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SIJ0  i.  1.  BtU  IGtbrarg 


Nortli  (Carolina  ^tat?  Mmueraity 

aK4B2 

L89 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  DATE 
INDICATED  BELOW  AND  IS  SUB- 
JECT TO  AN  OVERDUE  FINE  AS 
POSTED  AT  THE  CIRCULATION 
DESK. 


OCT  2  8  19b7 
OCT  1  6  1994 


A  GUIDE  to  the  TREES 


UNIFORM  WITH  THIS  VOLUME 

A  Guide  to  the  Wild  Flowers 
By  Alice  Lounsberry  and  Mrs.  Ellis  Rowan 


PLATE  XXXV.     RED  MAPLE.     Acer  rub rw//.     Frontispiece. 

COPYRIGHT,    1900,   BY  FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY. 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


A/GUIDE 

TO  THE 

TREES 


BY 

ALICE  LOUNSBERRY 

Author  of  '■'■A  Guide  to  the  WiiJ  Flowers  " 

WITH  SIXTY-FOUR  COLOURED  AND  ONE  HUNDRED  AND  SIXTY-FOUR 
BLACK-AND-WHITE    PLATES    AND    FIFTY-FIVE   DIAGRAMS 


BY 

MRS.  ELLIS  ROWAN 

Illustrator  of  "^  Guide  to  the  Wild  Flowers  " 


"DGlitb  an  llntroOuction 

BY 

DR.  N.  L  BRITTON 

Enii'ritits  Professor  of  Botany,  Columbia  University,  Author  of  "An  Illustrated 
Flora,"  and  Director-in-Chief  of  the  New   York  Botanical  Garden. 


NEW  YORK 

FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 


Copyright,  1900, 
By  Frederick  A.  Stokes  Company 


Contents. 


PAGE. 
V 


Preface,      ....♦•• 
List  of  Illustrations,     .....  ix 

List  of  Engravings  of  Entire  Trees,  .  .  .  xv 

Introduction  by  Dr.  Britton,  .  .  .         xix 

Illustrated  Terms,  .....  i 

The  Growth  of  the  Trees,       ....  19 

Trees  Preferring  to  Grow  Near  Water  :  in  Swamps 

AND  BY  Running  Streams,  .  .  .  -37 

Trees  Preferring  to  Grow  in  Moist  Soil:  Lowlands 

and  Meadows,    .         •  .  •  •  .108 

Trees  Preferring  to  Grow  in    Rich  Soil:    Forests 

AND  Thickets,  .  .  •  •  •         ^5° 

Trees    Preferring    to    Grow    in    Sandy  or  Rocky 

Soil:   Hillsides  and  Barrens,         .  .  •        233 

Trees  Preferring  to  Grow  in  Light  or  Dry  Soil: 

Upland  Places,  Meadows  and  Roadsides,  .        263 

Miscellaneous  Index,      .  .  •  •  -3°^ 

Index  to  English  Names,  .  .  .  ■ 

Index  to  Latin  Names,  .... 

Index  to  Technical  Terms,       .  •  qqoQO^" 


3°3 
308 


Preface. 

There  is  a  solemnity,  a  repose  about  the  great  trees,  and  the 
restless,  ceaseless  stirring  of  the  small  ones  is  full  of  mystery. 
So  self-evident  are  they,  so  close  at  hand  that  we  almost  find 
ourselves  in  danger  of  becoming  oblivious  to  their  presence. 
They  never  intrude  upon  the  attention  ;  they  rather  pursue 
indomitably  their  own  way.  As  landmarks  of  history  many 
trees  have  been  revered ;  traditions  and  superstitions  have 
clustered  about  them  while  in  mute  eloquence  they  have 
answered  the  people's  expectations.  In  England,  to-day,  there 
are  oaks  standing  that  knew  the  ground  before  its  conquest  by 
the  Romans.  Nothing  is  grander  than  are  trees.  Nothing 
gives  of  its  best  more  freely  to  man.  And  to  each  one 
there  is  an  individuality  which  having  once  been  observed 
may  be  traced  into  the  folk-lore  of  nations.  But  before  the 
trees  can  truly  impress  us,  before  we  can  appreciate  them  in 
their  fullest  expression,  we  should  know  something  of  them 
scientifically, — their  manner  of  growth,  their  sources  of  life  and 
the  often  subtle  differences  which  separate  them  into  families 
and  genera  and  species.  Later  we  may  forget  these  things, 
and  regard  them  simply  from  the  standpoint  of  their  appear- 
ance. To  combine,  therefore,  a  necessary  amount  of  scientific 
knowledge  while  not  to  lose  sight  of  the  character  and  recog- 
nised place  each  tree  holds  in  its  great  world  has  been  an  aim 
in  the  writing  of  "A  Guide  to  the  Trees." 

Nearly  two  hundred  trees  and  some  shrubs  have  been  herein 
included.  Among  them  are  all  those  prominent  in  North- 
eastern America  and  a  few  distinctive  and  rare  species  from 
the  south  and  west.  Several  also  that  are  not  indigenous  but 
which  have  become  identified  with  the  tree-life  of  this  country 
have  been  presented.  That  their  positions  may,  after  a  simple 
means,  be  located  in  the  book,  they  have  primarily  been  classi- 


vi  PREFACE. 

fied  according  to  the  soil  in  which  they  prefer  to  grow.  This 
is  always  a  notable  point,  and  it  is  mostly  in  cultivation  that 
we  see  them  thriving  under  other  conditions  of  soil  than  those 
of  their  natural  habitat.  A  river-loving  tree  is  ever  loath  to 
sacrifice  its  desire  for  moisture,  and  the  ones  from  the  dry  hill- 
tops are  chary  of  venturing  into  the  swamps.  Trees  that  pre- 
fer to  grow  near  water  are  placed  in  the  first  section,  then 
follow  those  of  moist  soil,  those  of  rich  soil,  those  of  sandy  or 
rocky  soil  and  those  of  dry  soil  respectively.  Within  these  five 
sections  the  order  in  which  they  have  been  arranged  has  been 
with  a  regard  to  the  peculiarities  of  their  leaves.  The  simplest 
forms,  those  with  entire  edges,  and  which  grow  alternately  on 
the  branches,  are  placed  first,  and  through  their  variations  such 
leaves  continue  to  follow  until  those  with  lobed  edges  are 
reached.  Simple,  opposite  leaves  are  next,  and  are  arranged 
in  the  same  order,  relating  to  the  character  of  their  margins. 
Then  following  in  the  same  way  are  compound,  alternate  leaves, 
and  finally  compound,  opposite  leaves.  Towards  the  end  of 
the  sections  will  be  found  the  coniferous  trees. 

The  descriptions  of  the  trees  are  headed  by  their  common 
name,  or  by  several  common  names  when  they  exist,  and  by 
their  scientific  name.  These  latter  are  in  accordance  with 
those  sanctioned  by  Professor  Sargent  and  Dr.  Britton.  So 
that  the  eye  can  quickly  find  them  are  then  set  forth  the 
family,  shape,  height,  range  and  time  of  bloom  of  the  plants. 
An  analysis  of  their  parts  is  given,  in  which  the  special  features 
of  the  bark,  the  leaves,  the  bloom  and  the  fruit  are  mentioned. 
Throughout  the  book  no  technical  terms  have  been  used  that 
are  not  explained  in  the  chapter,  "  Illustrated  Terms." 

As  the  leading  points  of  recognition  in  connection  with  the 
trees  have  been  thus  concisely  given,  the  privilege  has  been' 
taken  of  admitting  into  the  text  any  impressions  or  notes  of 
interest  that  the  trees  have  themselves  suggested. 

In  the  chapter,  "  The  Growth  of  the  Trees,"  the  story  is 
simply  told  of  their  development  from   the   seed  into   a   full- 


PREFACE.  vii 

grown  tree.  To  know  something  of  their  ways  and  struggle 
for  life  cannot  but  add  deeply  to  the  interest  they  inspire. 
Stress  also  has  been  laid  on  the  blooming  of  the  trees,  for 
although  the  advantages  of  a  trained  observation  are  being 
more  keenly  realised,  there  are  still  many  that  are  quite  un- 
conscious of  the  beauty  and  fineness  of  many  of  their  flowers. 
To  see  the  hanging  crimson  bloom  of  the  red  maple  is  as 
beautiful — although  in  a  different  way — as  the  unfolding  of  the 
magnolias. 

An  advanced  and  exquisite  feature  of  the  book  is  its  sixty- 
four  illustrations  in  colour.  The  originals  were  painted  by 
Mrs.  Rowan  with  great  spirit  and  accuracy.  One  hundred 
pen-and-ink  sketches  form  excellent  studies  and  the  many 
small  representations  of  trees  are  very  attractive.  No  labour 
has,  in  fact,  been  spared  that  the  book  may  satisfactorily  fill 
the  gap  there  seems  to  be  for  such  an  one. 

It  is  with  the  greatest  pleasure  that  mention  is  here  made  of 
the  encouragement  that  has  been  given  to  the  writing  of  "  A 
Guide  to  the  Trees."  All  that  have  known  of  its  progress  have 
shown  in  it  a  kind  interest.  Especially  is  it  desired  to  express 
appreciation  of  the  impetus  given  to  the  work  by  Mr.  George 
Vanderbilt,  who  has  done  much  to  further  the  valuable  study 
of  forestry.  From  his  herbarium  fresh  specimens  were  con- 
tinually supplied  to  Mrs.  Rowan  and  which  for  illustrating  she 
found  of  inestimable  value.  To  Mr.  Beadle,  the  botanist  of 
Biltmore,  the  most  grateful  thanks  are  due,  for  through  his 
collaboration  many  difificult  tangles  were  pleasantly  unravelled. 
To  devote  his  time  to  Mrs.  Rowan  and  Miss  Lounsberry,  and 
to  give  freely  from  his  fund  of  accurate  knowledge  he  was  ever 
ready  during  their  stay  at  Biltmore.  His  assistants  also  were 
most  kind  and  helpful.  Dr.  Charles  Mohr  has  contributed 
information  about  the  bald  cypress,  and  in  many  ways  Dr. 
Britton's  advice  has  been  of  importance. 

Away  to  the  trees  then  let  us  go. 

For  it  matters  not  whether  there's  rain  or  snow 

They  wait  for  us. 


List  of  Illustrations. 


The  mark  ***  which  appears  in  the  list  designates  the  plates  that  are  pro- 
duced in  colour.  The  number  of  the  page  given  for  each  of  these  coloured 
plates  is  that  of  the  printed  pags  faced  hy  the  coloured  plate  in  each  case. 


PLATE. 

I  SEEDS  AND  EMBRYOS. 

II.  MAPLE  PLANTLET. 

III.  SECTION  OF  WOOD.    • 

IV.  PINE  SEEDLING. 

V.  BUDS.       •  •  •  •     -       . 

VI.  OAK  SEEDLING. 

VII.  GREAT-FLOWERED  MAGNOLIA,     Masnolia /(etida, 
VIII.  SMALL  MAGNOLIA.     Magnolia  Virginiatia, 

IX.  SOUR  GUM.     Nyssa  sylvatica,    ^  . 

X.  WATER  TUPELO.     Nyssa  biflora,    . 

XI.  BLACK  ALDER.     Ilex  verticillata,  . 

XII.  WILD  YELLOW  PLUM.  Prunus  Americana, 
XIII,  BUTTON-WOOD.  Platanus  occidentalis,  •/ 
XIV-  RIVER  BIRCH.     Betula  nigra,      \/  . 

XV.  SMOOTH  ALDER.     Alnus  rugosa,     . 

XV!.  AMERICAN  HORNBEAM.     Carfinus  Caroliniana,J 

XVII.  BLACK  WILLOW,     ^'j/?^  "'iT'".   v 

XVIII.  WESTERN  BLACK  WILLOW.     Salix  aynygdaloides, 

XIX.  SHINING  WILLOW.     Salix  lucida,    . 

XX.  BEBB'S  WILLOW.     •^"'''^  Bebbiana, 

XXI.  SILKY  WILLOW.    Salix  sericea, 

XXII.  WEEPING  WILLOW.     Salix  Babylonica,    J 

XXIII.  YELLOW  WILLOW.     Salix  alba  vitellina^y/ 

XXIV.  BRITTLE  WILLOW.     Salix /rngilis. 


•  *  * 

*  «  • 


LIST  OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


y 


J. 


XXV.  DOWNY  POPLAR.     Populus  heterophylla,   . 

XXVI.  BALM  OF  GILEAD.     Populus  candicam, 

XXVII.  COTTONWOODr     Populus  deltoides,    »/    . 
XXVIII.  SWAMP  WHITE  OAK.     Quercus  plaianoides, 

XXIX.  WILLOW  OAK.     Quercus  Phellos,      . 

XXX.  LAUREL  OAK.      Quercus  lauri/olia, 

XXXI.  COMMON  FRINGE  TREE.      Chionanthus  Virginica, 

XXXII.  SWEET  VIBURNUM.      Viburnuvi  Lentago, 

XXXIII.  CRANBERRY  TREE,      t-'iburnum  Opulus, 

XXXIV.  HOBBLE-BUSH.      Vhburnum  alni/olium, 
XXXV.  RED  MAPLE.     Acer  rubrum, 

XXXVI.  SILVER  MAPLE.     Acer  saccharinum, 

XXXVII.  POISON  SUMAC.     Rhus  vernix, 

XXXVIII.  SWAMP  HICKORY.     Hicoria  minima, 

XXXIX.  WATER  HICKORY.     Hicoria  aquatica, 

XL.  ASH-LEAVED  MAPLE.     Acer  Negundo. 

XLI.  BLACK  ASH.     Fraxinus  nigra, 

XLII.  RED  ASH.     Fraxinus  Pennsylvanica, 

XLIII.  GREEN  ASH.     Fraxinus  lanceolaia, 

XLIV.  BALD  CYPRUS.      Taxodiutn  distichutn,    V 

XLV.  SOUTHERN  WHITE  CEDAR.      Chamtpcyparis  thyoide. 

XLVI.  ARBOR  VITAE.      Thuja  occidenialis, 

XLVII.  AMERICAN  LARCH.     Larix  laricina, 

XLVIII.  UMBRELLA-TREE.     Magnolia  tripetala,    . 

XLIX.  NORTH  AMERICAN  PAPAW.     Asiminn  triloba,     . 

L  JAMAICA  CAPER  TREE.      Ca/paris /amaicensis, 

LI.  RED  BUD.      Cercis  Canadensis. 

Lll.  FOUR-WINGED  SNOWDROP  TREE.     Mohrodendron  Carolinu 

Llll.  NARROW-LEAVED  COTTONWOOD.     Pof'ulus  angusti/olia, 

LIV.  AMERICAN  HOLLY.     Ilex  ofaca,       .... 

LV.  THREE-FLOWERED  THORN.     CratcFgus  triflora, 

LVI.  AMERICAN  ELM.     Ulmus  Americana,    '■'    . 

LVII.  CORKY  WHITE  ELM,     Ulmus  racemosa,      . 

LVIII,  SLIPPERY  ELM.     Ul»tus  fulva,  .... 


*  If  n 

*  *  * 


84 
Frontispiece. 


98 


102 
106 
109 
no 
no 

112 
114 
116 


***   118 
♦  *  *   120 

125 


*  *  ♦ 

*  *  * 
«  *  * 


LlSr  OF   ILLUSTRATlOxVS. 


XI 


LIX.  HACKBERRY.     tV///j  occidentalism    . 

LX.  RED  MULBERRY.     -If^orus  rubra,      ^ 

LXI.  WHITE  MULBERRY.     Morus  alba,     . 

LXM.  PAPER  MULBERRY.     B'oussonetia papyri/era, 

LXIII.  BURR  OAK.     Querent  inacrocarpa,  . 

LXIV.  PIN  OAK.      Quercus  palustris,      1/  . 

LXV.  SWEET  GUM,     Liquidambar  styraciflua,     / 

LXVI.  CORAL  SUMAC.     R''"^  Metopium,    . 

LXVII.  LOCUST.     Robinia  Xeo-Mexicana, 

LXVIII.  AMERICAN  MOUNTAIN  ASH.     Sorbus  Americana, 

LXIX.  BILTMORE  ASH.     Fraxinus  Biltmoreana, 

LXX.  WESTERN  BLADDER-NUT.     Siaphylea  Bolanderi, 

LXXI.  ELDER.     Sumbucus  Canadensis  var.  Mexicana, 

LXXll.  SWEET  BUCKEYE.     .-Esculus  octandra,     . 

LXXXIII.  OHIO  BUCKEYE.     --Esculus glabra, 

LXXIV.  CUCUMBER  TREE.     Magnolia  acuminata,      ~y    . 

LXXV.  SMOOTH  AZALEA.     Azalea  arbor escens,    . 

LXXVI  AMERICAN  LINDEN,      l ilia  Americana,     . 

LXXVII.  WHITE  BASSWOOD.      '^'^''t  heterophylla, 

LXXVIII.  WILD  RED  CHERRY      Pmnus  Pennsylvanica,      . 

LXXIX.  AMERICAN  CRAB-APPLE.      Malus  coronaria, 

LXXX.  NARROW-LEAVED  CRAB-APPLE.     Malus  angusti/olia 

LXXXI.  CANADA  PLUM.       Prunus  nigra,     •. 

LXXXII.  WILD  PLUM.     Prunus  subcordata,    . 

LXXXIII.  HAWTHORN.     Cratcpgus  coccinea,     . 

LXXXIV.  BLACK  THORN.     Crataegus  tomentosa, 

LXXXV.  DOTTED-FRUITED  THORN.     Crat<tgus punctata. 

LXXXVI.  COCKSPUR  THORN.     Cratcegus  Crus-Galli, 

LXXXVII.  SOUR-WOOD.     Oxydendruin  arboreiim,    . 

LXXXVIII.  WITCH-HAZEL.     Hamamelis  Virginiana, 

LXXXIX.  AMERICAN  CHESTNUT.     Castanea  dentata, 

XC.  CHINQUAPIN.     Castanea  pumila,     . 

XCI.  AMERICAN  BEECH.     Fagus  Americana,    W 

XCII.  CANOE  BIRCH.     Betula  papyri/tra. 


Xll 


LIST  OF  ILLUSl  RATIONS. 


XCIll.  SWEET  BIRCH.     Betula  lenta, 
XCIV.     YELLOW  BIRCH.     Betula  iutea, 

XCV.  HAZEL-NUT.     Corylus  Americana,  . 

XCVI.  HAZELNUT.      Corylus  rostrata, 
XCVII.     LARGE-TOOTHED  ASPEN.     Populus ^randiden 

XCVIII.  TULIP  TREE.     Liriodendron  Ttiiipi/era,  .\J 

XCIX.  WHITE  OAK.     Quercus  alba,     V     . 

C.  RED  OAK.      Quercus  rubra,  .  .  .    ' 

CI.  FLOWERING  DOGWOOD.      Cornus florida,   ^' 

CM.  ALTERNATE-LEAVED  DOGWOOD.     Cornus  alterni/oli 

cm.  CATALPA.      Catalj>a  Cutalpa, 

CIV.  SUGAR  MAPLE.     ^<:^^  Saccharuvt,      >/      . 

CV.  STRIPED  MAPLE.     ^'^^''  Pennsylvanicuni, 

CVI.  MOUNTAIN  MAPLE.     Acer  spicatum, 

evil.  FALSE  SYCAMORE.     Acer  Pseudo-Platunus, 

CVIII.  LOCUST  TREE.     Robinia  Pseudacacia,   \/, 

CIX.  CLAMMY  LOCUST.     Robinia  viscosa, 

ex.  ROSE  ACACIA.     Robinia  hispida,     . 

CXI.  HONEY  LOCUST.     Gleditsia  triancanthos,     V 

CXII.  AMERICAN  YELLOW-WOOD.     Cladrastis  lutea, 

CXIII.  KENTUCKY    COFFEE-TREE.      Gymnocladus  dioica, 

CXIV.  BLACK  WALNUT.    Juglans  nigra,  7 

Q,Y.M.  BUTTERNUT.     Jnglans  cinerea, 

CXVI.  MOCKER-NUT.     Hicoria  alba, 

CXVII.  SHAG-BARK  HICKORY.     Hicoria  ovata,     . 

CXVMI.  SMALL-FRUITED   HICKORY,     Hicoria  nticrocarp, 

CXIX.  WHITE  ASH.      Fraxinus  Ajnericana,    ^   . 

CXX.  BLUE  ASH.     Fraxinus  quadrangulata^     . 

CXXI.  WHITE  PINE.     Pinus  Sirobus, 

CXXII.  HEMLOCK.      Ts?(ga  Canadensis,      . 

CXXm.  BLACK  SPRUCE.     ^'(^^  Mariana,  . 

CXXIV.  WHITE  SPRUCE.     ^'^^«  Canadensis, 

CXXV.  BALSAM  FIR      Abies  balsamea, 

CXXVI.  PERSIMMON.     Diospyros  Virginiana,   ^. 


178 
180 
182 
184 
185 

*  *  *  186 

*  *  *  188 

X90 

*  *  *  152 

193 

*  *  *  194 

198 
300 

*  *  *  302 

203 

*  *  *  S04 

206 

*  *  *  206 

*  *  •  308 


♦  ♦  * 


♦  «  * 


if   if  Is 


3IO 


312 


214 

SIS 

•  ♦  ♦  S16 

317 
219 
222 
224 

*  *  *   224 

2^8 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


xui 


CXXVIl.  CALIFORNIA  MAHOGANY.     Rhus  integri/olla, 

CXXVIII.  DWARF  THORN.     Craitpgus  unijtora, 

CXXIX.  AMERICAN  ASPEN.     Populus  tremuloides, 

CXXX.  LIVE  OAK.     Qitercus  Virginiana,     . 

CXXXI.  SPANISH  OAK.     Quercus  digitata, 

CXXXII.  SCARLET  OAK.     Quercus  coccinea,     y^     . 

CXXXIII.  BLACK  OAK.      Quercus  velutina,       .  ^, 

CXXXIV.  LABRADOR  PINE.     Pinus  divaricata, 

CXXXV.  CANADIAN  PINE.     Pinus  resinosa,     . 

CXXXVI.  JERSEY  PINE.     Pi'ius  Virginzana, 

CXXXVII.  LONG-LEAVED  PINE.     Pinus palustris,      . 

CXXXVIII.  SHORT-LEAVED  PINE.     Pinus  echinata,    . 

CXXXIX.  PITCH  PINE.     Pi'iusrigida,  . 

CXL.  RED  SPRUCE.     Pi<-ea  rubens, 

CXLl  NORWAY  SPRUCE.     Picea.  exceisa,  . 

CXLIl.  SNOWBERRY.     Symphoricarpos  Symphoricarpos 

CXLlll.  SASSAFRAS.     Sassafras  Sassafras,         ^   . 

CXLIV.  WILD  BLACK  CHERRY.     Prunus  serotina^ 

CXLV.  APPLE,     flatus  Malus, 

CXLVI.  JUNE-BERRY.     Amelanchier  Canadensis, 

CHOKE-CHERRY.     Prunus  Virginiana,      .  ^ 

CXLVII.  PEACH.     Arnygdahis  Persica, 

CXLVIII.  SILVER-LEAF  POPLAR.     Populus  alba, 

CXLIX.  LOMBARDY  POPLAR.     Populus ■dHzrtrtta,   .\/ 

CL.  AMERICAN  WHITE  BIRCH.     Betula  popuiifolia, 

CLI.  HOP-HORNBEAM.      Ostrya  Virgitiiana,     .^ 

CLII.  POST  OAK.      Quercus  juun<»\         "'. 

CLIll.  BLACK-JACK.        Quercus  Marylandica,     ^ 

CLIV.  ROCK  CHESTNUT  OAK.     Quercus  Prinus,      ^ 

CLV.  CHESTNUT  OAK.     Quercus  acuminata,     . 

CLVI.  BLACK-HAW,     Virburnum prunifolium,  . 

CLVII.  STAGHORN  SUMAC.     Rhus  hirta,  . 

CLVIII.  SMOOTH  UPLAND  SUMAC.     Rhus  glabra, 

CLIX.  AILANTHUS.     A  ilanthus  glandulosa,  i^- 


*  *  * 

♦  ♦  * 


*  *  ♦ 


*  *  * 

*  *  * 


'35 
237 
239 
240 
242 
244 
^44 

247 
250 
252 
252 
254 
257 
2sg 
261 

*  *  *  362 

364 
aC6 

*  *  *  366 

*  ♦  *  268 
»  *  ♦ 

*  *  *  270 

272 
274 

*  *  *  274 

277 
279 
381 

*  *  *  282 

284 

286 

38S 

»  •  ♦  288 

*  *  *  390 


IV  LIST  OF   ILLUSTRATIONS, 

CLX.  PIG-NUT.     Hicoria  glabra,    .  . 

CLXI.  HORSE  CHESTNUT,     ^scuius  Hippocastanum,     ^ 

CLXII.  HICKORY  PINE.    Pinus pungens,      . 

CLXIII.  COMMON  JUNIPER.    Juniperus  communis, 

CLXIV.  RED  CEDAR.    Juniperus  Virginiana, 


292 
294 
296 


List  of  Engravings  of  Entire  Trees. 


GREAT-FLOWERED  MAGNOLIA.      Mngnolia  fwtida, 

SMALL  MAGNOLIA.     Magnolia  Virghiiana, 

WATER  TUPELO,     ^'yssa  bijlorn,  . 

WILD  YELLOW  PLUM.     Pru7tus  A  vuricana, 

BUTTON-WOOD.      Platantis  occidentalism    ^ 

WEEPING  WILLOW.     Salix  Babylonica^    ." 

DOWNY  POPLAR.      Popiilits  heterophylln^ 

COMMOM  FRINGE  TREE.      Chionatithiis  \'irgiiiica, 

RED  MAPLE.     Acer  rubrum,       v'    . 

SILVER  MAPLE.     Acer  sacchiirinuin,^'     . 

POISON  SUMAC.     ^^''"  I'ernijr,     . 

ASH-LEAVED  MAPLE.     Ac^-r  JVegimdo,     . 

SOUTHERN  WHITE  CEDAR.      Chauicecyparis  thyoides 

AMERICAN  LARCH.      I-'i'ix  laricina, 

FOUR-WINGED  SNOWDROP  TREE.     Mohrodendron  C 

RED  BUD.     Cercis  Canadensis, 

AMERICAN  HOLLY.     Ilex  oJ<aca,     . 

AMERICAN  ELM.      Ulmus  Americana  J    , 

ENGLISH  ELM.      Ulmtis  campestris, 

RED  MULBERRY.     Moms  rubra,    . 

WHITE  MULBERRY.     Morus  alba, 

BURR  OAK.      Querctis  >nacrocar/>a, 

PIN  OAK.      Qiiercus palustris, 

BILTMORE  ASH.     Fraxinus  Biltmoreana, 

SWEET  BUCKEYE.     -Esciilus  ociandra,  . 

CALIFORNIA  BUCKEYE,     -^senilis  Cnli/ornica, 


84 
86 
8S 
92 
103 

1C5 
114 

"3 
117 
120 
124 
128 
130 
I. S3 
134 
142 
M7 
"49 


xvi        LIST  OF  ENGRAVINGS  OF  ENTIRE  TREES. 


AMERICAN  LINDEN.      Tilia  Atnericcviia,  . 

DOTTED-FRUITED  THORN.      Crata-gus  punctata, 

COCKSPUR  THORN,     trata-gus  Crus^rni/i\ 

TULIP  TREE.     Liriodendron  Tii/i/i!/t;ra, 

WHITE  OAK.     Quercus  alba, 

RED  OAK.      Quercus  ruhya, 

FLOWERING  DOGWOOD.      Cornus  florida, 

CATALPA.     Catalpa  Catalpa, 

SUGAR  MAPLE.     A<:er  Saccharutii, 

STRIPED  MAPLE.     Acer  PennsylTanicum, 

MOUNTAIN  MAPLE.     Acer  spicatuin, 

FALSE  SYCAMORE.     Acer  Fseudo-Flatanus, 

LOCUST  TREE.     Robinia  Pseudacncia, 

HONEY  LOCUST,      Gleditsia  triancanthos. 

AMERICAN   YELLOW-WOOD.      Cladrastis  lutea 

KENTUCKY  COFFEE-TREE.     Gymnocladus  dioica, 

BLACK  WALNUT,    Juglans  nigra, 

WHITE  ASH.     yraximis  Americana,    ■' . 

WHITE  PINE.     Pinus Strobus, 

BALSAM  FIR.     Abies  balsamea, 

PERSIMMON.     Diospyros  Virginiana, 

LIVE  OAK.     Quercus  VirgiJiiana,  . 

SPANISH  OAK,     Quercus  digitata, 

CANADIAN   PINE.     Pinus  resinosa, 

LONG-LEAVED  PINE.     Pinus paiustris,   . 

PITCH  PINE.     Pinus  rigida, 

NORWAY  SPRUCE.     -^''^^^  exceha, 

WILD  BLACK  CHERRY.      Prunus  scrotina, 

JUNE-BERRY.     Amelattchier  Canadensis, 

PEACH.     Amygdalus  Persica, 

LOMBARDY  POPLAR.     Populus  dilatata, 

AMERICAN  WHITE  BIRCH.     Betula populifoh 

WEEPING  BIRCH.     Hetula pendula. 


LIST  OF  ENGRAVINGS  OF  ENTIRE  TREES. 


POST  OAK.     Q'tercus  MttKOr, 
STAGHORN  SUMAC.     Rhus  hirta, 
AILANTHUS.      A  ilanthui glandulosa^ 
HORSE  CHESTNUT.     jEscttlus  Hippocastanum, 
RED  CEDAR.    Juniperus  Virginiana 


287 
290 

293 
299 


Introduction. 


Trees  are  among  the  most  familiar  objects  in  Nature,  and 
among  the  most  easily  observed  and  studied  ;  yet  how  few 
people  know  one  from  another  or  have  an  intelligent  under- 
standing of  their  life  history  !  Again,  they  are  among  the 
most  important,  in  their  widely  different  fields  of  usefulness, 
furnishing  as  they  do,  wood  for  building,  tools,  implements, 
the  manifold  kinds  of  construction,  and  for  fuel  ;  fruits,  fibres, 
resins,  gums,  drugs  and  a  host  of  other  useful  products  ;  shade 
and  seclusion  ;  ornaments  for  our  parks,  lawns  and  highways, 
while  our  forests,  too  long  neglected,  are  coming  to  be  recog- 
nised, after  years  of  education  of  the  people,  as  having  an  all- 
important  relationship  to  the  flow  of  streams  by  conserving  the 
rainfall  and  distributing  it  normally  and  gradually,  thus  natur- 
ally regulating  our  water-supply.  Anything  that  brings  trees 
more  closely  to  our  attention,  and  that  makes  us  realise  their 
great  importance  is  of    distinct  value  as  an  educational  agent. 

The  greater  size  of  trees  as  compared  with  shrubs  and  herbs 
tends  to  make  them  regarded  by  many  as  a  group  of  objects 
essentially  different  from  other  plants,  so  much  so  that  we  fre- 
quently read  statements  concerning  "  Trees,  shrubs  and 
plants."  And  yet  a  tree  is  not,  except  in  size,  so  very  different 
in  its  essential  structure  from  its  humbler  relatives  of  the 
plant  community  ;  it  has  roots,  a  stem,  leaves,  flowers,  fruit 
and  seed,  as  they  have  ;  the  fact  that  all  trees  bear  flowers  of 
one  kind  or  another  is  perhaps  not  so  generally  appreciated  as 
its  possession  of  the  other  parts  mentioned,  due,  doubtless,  to 
the  flowers  of  many  of  them  being  insignificant  in  size,  unim- 


XX  INTRODUCTION. 

'pressive  in  colour,  and  appearing  so  early  in    the  season    that 
they  are  neither  looked  for  nor  noticed. 

That  trees  have  a  very  well-defined  preference  as  to  the 
character  of  the  soils  in  which  they  grow  most  readily  and 
healthily  is  a  generalization  that  is  unfamiliar  to  many,  and 
that  their  surroundings  and  kind  of  ©xposure  affect  their 
growth  to  a  large  degree  will  also  be  a  new  idea  to  some. 

All  these  lessons,  and  a  great  many  more,  will  be  found  in 
detail  in  the  pages  of  this  beautiful  book,  and  they  are  taught 
in  l-anguage  which  will  be  readily  intelligible  to  all,  while  the 
concise  descriptions  of  the  different  trees,  and  of  their  parts, 
taken  in  connection  with  the  profuse  and  excellent  illustrations, 
will  make  easy  and  attractive  the  identification  of  all  kinds  or- 
dinarily met  with  in  Eastern  North  America. 

N.  L.  Britton. 
New  York  Botanical  Garden, 
March  5,  1900. 


Illustrated    Terms.' 


In  the  minds  of  those  that  have  stepped  for  awhile  out  of  the 
routine  of  life  and  are  walking  abroad  with  nature,  there  seems 
to  lurk  a  resentment  of  all  restraint.  The  freedom  of  the 
atmosphere  stirs  in  their  nostrils.  To  have  much  to  do  with 
botany  and  technical  terms  on  such  an  occasion  has  especially 
been  supposed  to  blunt  the  keenness  of  one's  pleasure.  Whether 
this  be  true  or  not  is  a  matter  for  the  individual  to  decide.  It 
must  be  granted,  however,  that  there  are  certain  terms  that 
we  should  all  know,  and  which  can  in  no  way  come  between  us 
and  a  close  friendship  with  nature  ;  they  rather  help  us  to  ex- 
press our  thoughts  of  the  vegetable  world  more  clearly  and  to 
have  a  better  understanding  of,  and  intimacy  with,  all  that 
grows. 

The  technical  terms  that  are  used  throughout  "A  Guide  to 
the  Trees  "  are  simply  defined  in  the  present  chapter.  By  refer- 
ence to  it,  it  is  thought  that  even  those  most  unskilled  in  the 
study  of  plant  life  will  be  able  to  comprehend  the  analyses  that 
have  been  given  of  the  trees  and  to  become  conversant  with 
the  principal  points  to  be  noticed  when  identifying  species. 

Trees  are  the  grandest  members  of  the  vegetable  world. 
They  are  distinguished  from  shrubs  by  their  greater  size  and  be- 
cause they  spring  from  the  ground  with  a  single,  erect  and 
usually  branching  trunk. 

Their  organs  of  vegetation  are  the  root,  the  trunk  and 
branches  and  the  leaves. 

Their  organs  of  reproduction  are  the  products  of  the  flower: 
the  fruit  and  its  seeds. 


♦  When  suitable  for  this  chapter,  the  terms  and  illustrations   have  been  repeated  from 
"  A  Guide  to  the  Wilfl  Flowers." 


to.  H.  H^t-U  UBRARY 

North  Carolina  State  College 


2  ILLUSTRATED  TERMS. 

The  Root  is  the  simplest  organ  of  the  tree.  Its  function  is 
to  absorb  nourishment  and  moisture  from  the  soil,  and  in  it  to 
firmly  anchor  the  tree. 

Simple  Primary  Roots  are  those  which  grow  singly  from 
the  base  of  the  seedling  and  form  a  main  or  tap  root.  They 
then  are  either  lost  in  their  branches  or  they  remain  distinct 
and  send  off  side  branches. 

Multiple  Primary  Roots  are  so  called  because  several,  or 
a  cluster  of  roots,  grow  simultaneously  from  the  base  of  the 
seedling. 

The  Stems  of  trees  are  Arboreous — that  is  they  differ  from 
those  of  other  plants  in  forming  a  proper  tree  trunk. 

The  Exogenous  Stem  (outside-growing)  is  the  one  that 
belongs  to  all  northern  trees  and  shrubs.  In  it  the  pith,  or 
cellular  tissue  of  the  centre  is,  in  large  trunks,  usually  insignif- 
icant in  quantity,  and  is  surrounded  by  a  zone  of  wood  which 
in  its  turn  is  encased  in  an  outer  bark.  That  the  wood  occurs 
in  a  larger  proportion  than  do  its  other  parts,  is  often  the  only 
difference  in  arrangement  between  the  stem  of  a  young  tree 
and  that  of  an  herb. 

The  Bark  of  a  tree  is  divided  into  the  inner  and  outer  barks. 

The  Inner  Bark  is  called  the  Liber  or  Fibrous  Bark. 

The  Outer  or  Cellular  Bark  is  divided  into  two  layers:  the 
Green  or  Inner  Layer  and  the  Corky  or  Outer  Layer. 

Sap-Wood  or  Alburnum  is  the  outermost  layers  of  wood 
through  which  the  sap  most  freely  flows. 

Heart-Wood  is  the  name  given  to  the  inner  layers  of  wood. 

The  Endogenous  Stem  (inside-growing)  has  no  distinct 
arrangement  of  pith,  wood  and  bark.  Throughout  its  whole 
interior  the  threads  of  wood  are  irregularly  scattered. 

Leaf-Buds  are  branches  or  leafy  shoots  not  yet  developed. 
They  may  be  either  terminal  or  axillary. 

Terminal  Buds  grow  at  the  summit  of  the  stem  or 
branches. 

Axillary  Buds  grow  in  the  axils  of   the  leaves:  they   are 


ILLUSTRATED  TERMS.  3 

also  called  Lateral  Buds  because  they  appear  on  the  sides  of 
the  stem  or  branches. 

Naked  Buds  are  those  that  are  without  coverings  or  scales. 

Scaly  Buds  are  protected  by  scales. 

Latent  Buds  are  those  that  commonly  lie  hidden  and 
dormant  until  some  circumstance  causes  them  to  grow. 

Adventitious  Buds  usually  appear  without  any  order  and 
-in  unexpected  places.  In  their  development  they  often  serve 
to  replace  some  part  of  the  tree  that  has  been  injured. 

Suckers  are  ascending  branches  which  arise  from  subter- 
raneous parts  of  the  stem.  Adventitious  shoots  are  also  some- 
times called  suckers. 

Thorns  are  slender,  sharp-pointed,  modified  branches  which 
are  useful  to  protect  a  tree  from  the  ravages  of  small  animals. 

Leaves  are  the  digestive  organs  of  a  tree  and  assimilate  the 
sap  that  has  been  absorbed  by  the  roots  into  material  for  sus- 
taining and  building  up  its  tissues.  They  grow  from  leaf-buds 
and  may  be  regarded  as  appendages  of  the  stem.  The  differ- 
ent ways  in  which  they  are  arranged  upon  the  branches  are: — 

Alternate  when  they  are  borne  singly  at  the  nodes. 
(Fig.  I.) 

Opposite  when  two  grow  at  each  node  of  the  stem  and  have 
its  semi-circle  between  them.     (Fig.  2.) 

Whorled  when  they  grow  in  a  circle  about  the  stem. 
(Fig.  3.) 

The  PARTS  OF  A  LEAF  are  its  Blade,  the  broad  or  expanded 
portion  which  is  a  fibrous  network  of  veins  supporting  the 
green  pulp  or  soft  cellular  tissue  ;  the  individual  stalk  upon 
which  the  blade  is  raised,  called  the  Petiole  ;  and  the  Stip- 
ules, or  a  pair  of  usually  flat  bodies,  often  blade-like,  at  the 
base  of  the  petiole.  (Fig.  4.)  These  latter  are  often  inconspic- 
uous or  absent.  All  parts  of  the  leaf  are  covered  by  a  thin 
and  transparent  epidermis. 

The  main  branches  of  the  leaf's  framework  are  called  the 
Ribs  or  Veins  :  and  the  midrib  or  midvein  is  the  middle  one 


ILLUSTRATED  TERMS. 


when  it  is  longer  and  more  prominent  than  the  others.  (Fig.  4.) 
The  numerous  sub-divisions  of  the  framework,  Veinlets,  and 
the  finest  of  these  Veinulets. 

In  regard  to  their  venation,  leaves  are  divided  into  (i)  those 
that  are  Netted-Veined  and  (2)  those  that  are  Parallel- 
Veined.     This  feature  is  invariably   in  accord   with   the  shape 


FIG.  3. 


FIG.    5. 


and  character  of  the  leaf  and  should  therefore  be  most  care- 
fully observed. 

I.  Netted-Veined  Leaves  are  those  in  which  the  veins 
branch  off  from  the  midrib  and  again  branch  into  veinlets  that 
run  together  and  form  a  mesh  or  network.     (Fig.  it.) 

Feather-Veined  or  Pinnately-Veined  Leaves  are 
netted-veined  leaves  Avherein  the  veins,  from  the  base  to   the 


ILLUSTRATED  TERMS. 


apex  of  the  leaf,  all  branch  from  the  sides  of  the  midrib. 
(Fig.  12.) 

Palmately-Veined  Leaves  have  several  veins  of  almost 
equal  size  which  branch  from  the  same  point  at  the  base  of  the 
blade  and  spread  out  at  different  angles  towards  the  margin, 
(Fig.  26.) 

2.  Parallel-Veined  Leaves  are  those  in  which  the  main 
veins  run  side  by  side  without  branching  or  running  together, 
unless  it  is  by  a  few  almost  imperceptible  cross-veinlets. 
(Fig.  10.) 

It  is  according  therefore  to  the  structure  of  their  framework 
that  leaves  assume  their  great  variety  of  forms.  The  two 
classes  into  which  they  are  divided  are:  Simple  Leaves  and 
Compound  Leaves. 


FIG.  6. 


FIG.  7. 


FIG.  8. 


Simple  Leaves  are  those  wherein  the  blade  is  unbroken. 

Compound  Leaves  are  those  that  have  the  blade  split  into 
separate  parts:  each  part  then  forms  a  leaflet  which  may  be 
without,  or  have  a  little  stalklet  of  its  own. 

When  the  leaflets  in  a  compound  leaf  are  at  the  side  of  the 
blade,  and  arranged  as  in  feather-veined  or  pinnately-veined 
leaves  they  are  said  to  be  Pinnate.  In  this  form  they  occur 
as  Abruptly  Pinnate,  when  the  stalk  is  terminated  by  a  pair 
of  leaflets.  (Fig.  5.)  Odd-Pinnate,  when  an  odd  leaflet  ter- 
minates the  stalk  (Fig.  6.);  and  again  in  another  form  when  the 


6  ILLUSTRATED  TERMS. 

end  leaflet  is  changed  into  a  tendril,  the  purpose  of  which  is 
to  help  the  plant  in  climbing,  (Fig.  7.)  as  in  many  vines. 

Palmately  Compound  Leaves  have  the  leaflets  arranged 
as  in  a  palmately-veined  leaf.     (Fig.  8.) 

Leaves  may  be  twice,  thrice  or  more  times  compound. 
(Fig.  9.)  Their  leaflets  are  subject  to  all  the  variations  of 
simple  leaves. 

The  most  common  forms  of  leaves  and  leaflets  are  desig- 
nated by  the  following  terms: — 

Linear:  the  narrowest  form  of  a  leaf,  several  times  longer 
than  broad  :  grass-like.     (Fig.  10.) 


FIG.  9. 


Lanceolate  :  long  and  narrow,  slightly  broader  at  or  near 
the  base  and  tapering  towards  the  apex.     (Figs,  i  and  3.) 

Oblanceolate  :  a  reversed  lanceolate. 

Oblong  :  when  two  or  three  times  longer  than  broad. 
(Fig.  12.) 

Elliptical :    oblong  and  tapering  at  both  ends.     (Fig.  13.) 

Oval :  broadly-elliptical.     (Fig.  14.) 

Ovate :  when  the  outline  is  similar  to  the  long-section  of 
an  egg;  the  broader  end  downward.     (Fig.  15.) 

Obovate  :  a  reversed  ovate. 


ILLUSTRATED  TERMS.  7 

Spatulate  :  like  a  spatula,  rounded  at  the  apex  and  taper- 
ing towards  the  base.     (Fig.  i6.) 

Orbicular,  nearly  circular  in  outline. 

Peltate  or  Shield-Shaped  :  orbicular,  with  the  petiole 
attached  at  or  near  the  middle.     (Fig.  17.) 

Cordate  or  Heart-Shaped  :  ovate  in  outline,  and  having 
sides  that  form  a  notch  at  the  base.     (Fig.  18.) 

Obcordate  :  a  reversed  cordate. 


FIG.    13. 


FIG.    14. 


FIG.    15. 


FIG.   16. 


Reniform  or  Kidney-Shaped :  when  the  indentation  is 
deeper  and  the  leaf  more  rounded  than  heart-shaped.     (Fig.  19.) 

Auriculate  :  when  the  sides  of  the  leaf  are  prolonged  at  the 
base  into  two  ears  or  lobes.     (Fig.  20.) 

Sagittate  or  Arrow-Shaped :  when  pointed  at  the  apex 
and  having  the  lobes  at  the  base  acute  and  pointed  backward. 
(Fig.  21.) 

To  describe  the  peculiarities  of  the  margins  of  leaves  such 
terms  are  employed  as  : — 

Entire  :  those  leaves  in  which  the  margins  form  an  un- 
broken line,     (Fig.  13.) 

Undulate  :   when  the  margins  are  wavy.     (Fig.  22.) 

Crenate  :  when  the  margins  have  rounded  teeth  or  appear 
to  be  scalloped.     (Fig.  12.) 


8 


ILLUSTRATED  TERMS. 


Serrate  :  when  the  margins  have  short,  sharp  teeth  which 
point  forward.     (Fig.  ii.) 

Incised  :  when  the  teeth  of  the  margin  are  coarse  and  jagged 
and  extend  quite  far  into  the  leaf.     (Fig.  23.) 

Lobed  :  when  the  incisions  of  the  margin  extend  about  half 
way  to  the  midrib  and  in  which  case  the  leaf  is  spoken  of  as 
being  three-lobed,  five-lobed,  or  according  to  the  number  of 
lobes  that  are  formed.     (Fig.  24.) 


FIG.  17. 


FIG.   18. 


FIG.    19. 


FIG.   20. 


Cleft :  when  the  incisions  of  the  margin  reach  more  than 
half  way  to  the  midrib.     (Fig.  25.) 

Divided :  when  the  incisions  extend  to  the  midrib. 
(Fig.  26.) 

The  Sinuses  of  a  leaf  are  the  hollows,  or  curves  that  are 
formed  between  the  projecting  teeth,  or  lobes. 

According  to  the  roughness  or  smoothness  of  their  surfaces, 
leaves,  and  in  fact,  any  of  the  parts  of  a  tree  are  said  to  be  : — 

Glabrous  :  when  the  surface  is  not  provided  with  down,  or 
hairs. 

Pubescent :  when  provided  with  fine  hairs,  or  downy. 

Tomentose  :  when  covered  with  hairs  that  are  matted  and 
woolly. 

Glaucous  :  when  the  surface  is  covered  with  a  powdery  sub- 
stance, waxy  in  nature,  called  a  bloom. 


ILLUSTRATED    TERMS. 


The  Inflorescence  is  the  manner  in  which  the  flowers  are 
arranged  upon  the  stem.  It  may  be  either  Determinate  or 
Indeterminate.  When  it  is  determinate  the  flowers  have  all 
grown  from  terminal  buds.  An  indeterminate  inflorescence 
expresses  that  they  have  grown  from  axillary  or  lateral  buds. 

A  Pedicel  is  the  individual  stalk  of  a  flower  that  is  borne  in 
a  cluster. 

A  Peduncle  is  the  stalk  of  a  solitary  flower,  or  the  common 
stalk  that  bears  a  cluster. 

Sessile  is  the  term  used  when  the  leaves  or  flowers  grow 
closely  to  the  stem  or  branch,  and  are  without  either  pedicel 
or  peduncle. 


FIG.   21. 


FIG.   23. 


FIG.   24. 


When  but  one  flower  grows  on  the  end  of  the  stem  or  flower* 
stalk,  it  is  said  to  be  Terminal,  Solitary.    (Fig.  43.) 

It  is  Axillary  when  the  flower,  or  flowers,  grow  from  the 
axils  of  the  leaves;  that  is  in  the  angle  formed  by  the  leaf,  or 
leaf-stalk,  and  the  stem.     (Fig.  27.) 

A  Raceme  is  a  flower-cluster  in  which  the  flowers  grow  on 
pedicels  that  are  about  equally  long,  and  are  arranged  along  the 
sides  of  a  common  stalk.     (Fig.  28.) 

A  Panicle  is  a  compound  raceme.     (Fig.  29.) 

A  Thysus  is  a  panicle  when  very  compact,  and  oblong,  or 
pyramidal  in  shape.     (Fig.  30.) 


ILLUSTRATED  TERMS. 


A  Spike  is  like  a  raceme,  only  the  flowers  are  sessile, 
(Fig.  31.) 

A  Catkin  or  Ament  is  a  scaly  sort  of  spike  in  which  th-e 
flowers  are  without  petals.  Staminate  Catkin,  (Fig.  32.)  Pis- 
tillate Catkin,  (Fig.  33.) 

A  Head  or  Capitulum  is  a  short,  dense  spike  that  is  glob- 
ular in  form.     (Fig.  34.) 


FIG.   25. 


FIG.    26. 


FIG.    27. 


FIG.    28. 


A  Corymb  is  like  a  raceme,  but  the  lower  pedicels  are 
elongated  so  that  the  flowers  all  reach  about  the  same  height. 

(I^-iG.  35-) 

An  Umbel  is  like  a  corymb,  only  the  pedicels  branch  from 
the  same  central  point,  suggesting  the  ribs  of  an  umbrella.  It 
may  be  simple  or  compound.     (Fig.  36.) 

A  Cyme  is  a  flat-topped  flower-cluster,  differing  from  an 
umbel  in  that  its  innermost  flowers  are  the  first  to  open. 
(Fig.  37.) 

Bracts  are  the  modified  leaves  of  an  inflorescence,  or  those 
that  are  under  a  flower.  Usually  they  are  green  and  of  differ- 
ent size  and  shape  than  the  rest  of  the  foliage  ;  sometimes, 
however,  they  are  highly-coloured  and  petal-like. 

Many  trees  bear  both  staminate  and  pistillate  blossoms  which 
are  often  separate. 


ILLUSTRATED  TERMS. 


A  Staminate  Flower  is  one  that  has  stamens  but  no  pistils. 

A  Pistillate  Flower  is  one  that  has  pistils  but  no  stamens. 

When  both  staminate  and  pistillate  flowers  are  borne  on  the 

same  tree  it  is  called  Monoecious,  in  one  household  ;  when 


FIG.    29.  FIG.    30.  FIG.   31.  FIG.    32. 

they  are  borne  on  different  trees  they  are  spoken  of  as  being 
Dioecious,  in  two  households. 

Flowers  that  possess  both  of  the  essential  organs  of  repro- 
duction, the  stamens  and  pistils,  are  Perfect  Flowers.  The 
reverse  are  Imperfect  Flowers. 


FIG.    33.  FIG.    34.  FIG.   35. 

Neutral  Flowers  have  neither  stamens  nor  pistils. 
A  Complete  Flower  is  one  that  is  provided  with  the  essen- 
tial organs    of  reproduction,  the  stamens  and  pistil  ;    and  the 


13 


ILLUSTRATED  TERMS. 


protection  organs,  the  calyx  and  corolla.     (Fig.  38.)     Incom 
plete  Flowers  lack  one  of  the  four  organs  or  more. 

Regular  Flowers  are  those  that  have  the  parts  of  each 
set  of  organs  alike  in  size  and  form.  (Fig.  39.)  Irregular 
Flowers  have  the  parts  of  one  set  of  organs  or  more  unlike  in 
size  or  shape.     (Fig.  40.) 


FIG.  36. 


FIG.   37. 


FIG.  38.  FIG.  39. 

The  parts  then  of  a  complete  flower  are  the  calyx  and  corolla ; 
the  stamens  and  pistil. 

The  Calyx  (Fig.  38)  is  the  outer  set  of  leaves  at  the  base  of 
the  flower  which  rests  upon  the  receptacle  or  end  of  the  flower- 
stalk.  The  Sepals  are  the  leaves  of  the  calyx  when  it  is 
divided  to  the  base,  and  in  which  case  it  is  said  to  be  Poly- 
sepalous.  When,  however,  the  sepals  are  wholly  or  partly 
grown  together  the  calyx  is  Gamosepalous. 

The  Corolla  is  the  inner  and  upper  set  of  leaves.  It  is  the 
alluring  part  of  the  flower,  and  is  supposed  to  attra<;t  insects 


ILLUSTRATED  TERMS. 


13 


to  its  whereabouts  that  its  pollen  may  be  carried  through  their 
agency.  The  Petals  are  the  leaves  of  the  corolla  when  it  is 
divided  to  its  base.  It  is  then  said  to  be  Polypetalous.  The 
corolla  is  Gamopetalous  when  the  petals  are  wholly  or  partly 
grown  together. 

The  Calyx  and  Corolla  are  spoken  of  as  parted  when  they 
are  divided  nearly  to  the  base.  When  they  are  divided  about 
to  their  middle,  they  are  said  to  be  cleft,  or  lobed.  They  are 
toothed  when  the  lobes  are  very  small. 


FIG.  40. 


FIG.  41. 


FIG.  42. 


FIG.  43. 


When  the  parts  of  the  Calyx  and  Corolla  are  united,  some 
of  the  terms  used  to  express  their  different  forms  are  : — 

Salver-Shaped  :  when  the  border  is  flat  and  spreads  out  at 
right  angles  from  the  top  of  the  tube.     (Fig.  41.) 

Wheel-Shaped :  when  the  border  spreads  out  at  once  from 
a  very  short  tube  and  suggests  the  diverging  spokes  of  a  wheel. 
(Fig.  42.) 

Campanulate,  or  Bell-Shaped:  when  the  tube  expands 
towards  the  summit  and  has  no  border,  or  only  a  very  short 
one.     (Fig.  43.) 

Funnel-Form  :  when  the  tube  is  narrow  below  and  grad- 
ually spreads  to  a  wide  border.     (Fig.  44.) 

Tubular:  when  the  tube  is  prolonged  and  does  not  widen 
much  towards  the  summit.     (Fig.  45.) 

Labiate  :  when  there  is  an  apparently  two-lipped  division 
of  the  parts.     In  this  form  of  corolla  usually  two  petals  grow 


14 


ILLUSTRATED  TERMS. 


together  and  make  the  upper  lip  ;  the  remaining  three  petals 
join  together  and  form  the  lower  lip.  These  divisions  appear 
mostly  as  lobes,  and  it  is  not  always  noticed  that  the  corolla 
has  five  lobes  instead  of  two.     (Fig.  46.) 

The  preceding  forms  which  have  been  cited  are  those  that 
belong  to  the  gamopetalous  division.  The  following  terms  are 
peculiar  to  polypetalous  corollas  : — 


FIG.  44. 


FIG.  45.  FIG.   46. 


FIG.   47. 


Rosaceous  :  when  the  petals  are  distinct  and  without  claws, 
as  in  the  rose. 

Papilionaceous,  or  Butterfly-Shaped.  (Fig.  47.)  Such 
flowers  are  usually  described  in  three  parts:  the  Banner,  or 
Standard,  which  is  the  large  upper  petal  ;  the  Wings,  or  the 
two  side  petals,  and  the  two  anterior  petals  that,  commonly 
united  in  a  shape  something  like  the  prow  of  a  boat  and  en- 
closing the  reproducing  organs,  are  called  the  Keel.     (Fig.  48.) 

The  Stamens  or  Fertilizing  Organs  of  a  plant  are  com- 
posed of  two  parts  :  the  Filament,  or  stalk,  which  is  useful  to 
uphold  the  Anther  ;  and  the  Anther,  a  tiny  two-celled  box, 
which  contains  the  Pollen.  The  Pollen  is  the  yellow  fertil- 
izing dust  which  is  the  essential  product  of  the  stamens. 
(Fig.  49.) 

Exserted  Stamens  are  those  that  protrude  from  the 
corolla. 

Included  Stamens  are  those  that  are  within  the  corolla. 


ILLUSTRATED  TERMS. 


15 


The  Pistil  or  Seed-Bearing  Organ  is  divided  into  three 
parts  :  the  Ovary,  the  Style  and  the  Stigma.     (Fig.  50.) 

The  Ovary  is  the  lower,  expanded  part  of  the  pistil  which 
contains  the  ovules,  or  undeveloped  seeds.     (Fig.  50.) 

The  Style  is  the  slender  stalk  that  usually  surmounts  the 
ovary.     (Fig.  50.) 

The  Stigma  is  the  flat  or  variously  formed  body  that  termi- 
nates the  style.  (Fig.  50.)  Unlike  the  other  organs  of  the 
plant,  it  is  not  covered  by  a  thin  skin  or  epidermis.  Its  surface 
is,  therefore,  moist  and  rough,  so  that  it  readily  receives  and 
holds  the  pollen  when  it  is  deposited  upon  its  surface. 


~.rAMTner 


FIG.   51.  FIG.  52. 

Each  tiny  pollen  grain  that  alights  upon  the  stigma  sends 
out  from  its  under  surface  a  minute  tube  which  pierces  down 
through  the  style  until  it  reaches  an  ovule  below,  which  it 
quickens  into  life.  This  is  known  as  the  process  of  Fertiliza- 
tion. The  ovules  then  develope  into  Seeds,  and  the  ovary 
enlarges  into  the  Fruit  or  Seed  Vessel. 

Cross-Fertilization  takes  place  when  the  pollen  of  one 
flower  is  carried  to  the  stigma  of  another  by  some  extraneous 
agency,  such  as  the  wind  or  animal  life. 


i6 


ILLUSTRATED  TERMS. 


Self-Fertilization  occurs  when  the  stigma  receives  the 
pollen  from  the  stamens  in  the  same  flower-cup  as  itself.  It  is 
not  regarded  as  being  as  generally  beneficial  as  when  cross- 
fertilization  takes  place  ;  and  to  prevent  it,  flowers  are  often 
most  ingeniously  devised. 

The  arrangement  of  the  fruit  on  the  stem  is  naturally  the 
same  as  that  of  the  flower,  and  to  describe  it  the  same  terms 
are  used. 

The  fruit  is  in  reality  the  ripened  ovary  which  contains  the 
seeds. 

Fleshy  Fruits  are  those  in  which,  as  they  grow,  the  ovary 
becomes  fleshy  or  pulpy.     Berries  are  fleshy  fruits. 


FIG.    53.  FIG.   54.  FIG.   55. 

A  Pome  is  a  fleshy  fruit.  In  it  the  calyx-tube  adheres  to 
the  ovary  and  forms  of  the  fruit  the  greater  part.  Both  in 
pears  and  apples,  which  serve  for  illustrations,  the  pods  of  the 
core  are  the  only  parts  of  the  original  pistil. 

Stone  Fruits  are  those  which  are  partly  fleshy  and  partly 
hard. 


ILLUSTRATED  TERMS.  17 

A  Drupe  is  a  stone  fruit ;  such  as  a  peach  or  cherry.  In 
ripening  the  outer  part  of  the  ovary  becomes  soft  like  a  berry, 
and  the  inner  part  hardens.  This  formation  is  the  outcome  of 
a  special  construction  of  the  pistil. 

In  Dry  Fruits  the  seed  vessel  hardens,  remains  herbaceous, 
or  it  is  membranous  in  texture.  The  following  are  those  that 
are  commonly  found  on  trees  : — 

A  Nut  is  a  dry,  usually  one-seeded  fruit.  It  is  held  by  an 
involucre  of  various  forms  ;  such  as  a  cup  at  the  base  of  the 
acorn  and  a  burr  around  the  chestnut. 

A  Samara  or  Key  Fruit  is  one-seeded,  and  is  furnished 
with  a  membranous  wing.     (Figs.  51  and  52.) 

A  Capsule  or  Pod  is  a  dry,  many-seeded  fruit,  which  bursts 
open  in  one  piece  when  ripe  and  scatters  its  seeds.     (Fig.  53.) 

A  Legume  is  a  simple  pod  which  opens  into  two  pieces. 
The  pea  family  bear  legumes.     (Fig.  54.) 

A  Strobile  or  Cone  consists  of  a  number  of  fiat  bracts, 
which  grow  closely  and  overlap  each  other  forming  a  head  or 
spike  and  subtend  pistils.     (Fig.  55.) 

Seeds  are  the  ripened  ovules  which  contain  within  them  the 
new  plant,  or  the  embryo. 

They  are  composed,  although  found  in  many  different  forms, 
of  an  outer  and  inner  seed  coat  and  the  kernel  or  nucleus. 

The  outer  coat  is  frequently  hard  and  shell-like  :  the  inner 
one  is  membranous  and  delicate. 

The  Kernel  or  Nucleus  is  the  part  within  the  coats  :  the 
embryo  alone,  or  the  embryo  and  the  nourishing  matter  by 
which  it  is  surrounded.     This  latter  is  called  Endosperm. 

The  Embryo  is  the  germ,  or  the  rudimentary  plantlet 
within  the  seed.     (Plate  I.) 

The  Hypocotyl  is  the  stemlet  of  the  embryo,  and  from  the 
base  of  which  springs  the  young  root.     (Plate  I.) 

The  Cotyledons  or  Seed  Leaves  are  the  first  two  leaves 
of  a  plant,  and  are  usually  completely  formed  in  the  embryo. 
(Plate  I.)     In  accordance  with  the  number  of  leaves  that  first 


i8  ILLUSTRATED  TERMS. 

grow  from  the  embryo  plants  are  designated  as  being  :  Mono- 
cotyledonous,  when  there  is  but  one  seed-leaf ;  Dicotyle- 
donous when  there  are  two  ;  and  Polycotyledonous  when 
there  are  many  seed-leaves,  as  in  the  pine  family.  (Plate  IV.) 
The  Plumule  is  the  first  little  bud  that  appears  at  the  sum- 
mit of  the  hypocotyl  and  foretells  the  second  growth  of  leaves. 
(Plate  I.) 


The  Growth  of  the  Trees. 


Between  the  little  seed  that  drops  into  the  ground  and  the 
tall  tree  that  springs  from  it,  the  difference  is  great  ;  and  yet, 
when  we  know  well  the  seed  and  have  examined  its  contents, 
we  find  that  the  difference  is  more  one  of  increased  growth 
than  it  is  of  any  dissimilarity  in  character.  Within  the  seed, 
the  tree,  in  miniature,  already  lives.  As  to  all  things,  however, 
we  know  there  must  be  a  beginning,  and  although,  by  simply 
cutting  open  sideways  the  seed  of  a  maple  tree,  we  may  with  a 
naked  eye  see  the  stem  and  first  two  leaves  of  the  future  tree 
all  snugly  curled  up  in  their  seed  coat  ;  with  justice  we  ask 
how  they  came  to  be  there  and  after  what  manner  do  they  pro- 
ceed to  grow. 

It  is  then  necessary  for  us  to  go  still  further  back  in  the  story 
of  the  tree's  growth  and  to  turn  our  attention  to  the  blossoms 
of  the  preceding  year.  Here  we  shall  find  the  organs  of  repro- 
duction, the  stamens  and  pistil  ;  and  so  small  and  hidden  are 
often  these  most  essential  parts  that  their  doings  can  only  be 
successfully  followed  under  a  microscope.  Carefully  placed  in 
the  ovary  of  the  pistil  is  the  ovule  :  the  part  that  is  eventually 
to  become  the  seed.  Its  nucleus  appears  to  be  a  mass  of  pulpy, 
tissue-like  substance  and  it  is  enclosed  in  one  or  two  coats. 
It  is  here,  within  the  nucleus  that  the  embryo  or  seedling  is 
formed,  while  the  coats  develop  into  its  seed  coat.  At  the 
apex  of  the  ovule,  it  must  be  noticed,  there  is  a  little  hole  that 
extends  through  the  coats  and  which  is  called  the  orifice. 

Shortly  after  the  blossom  has  unfolded  there  appears  in  the 
nucleus  of  the  ovule,  a  small  cavity.  It  is  lined  with  a  fine 
membrane-like  tissue,  and  soon  forms  a  closed  sac.  At  the 
upper  end  of  the  sac  and  near  the  orifice  is  a  tiny,  round  body. 


20        THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  TREES. 

something  like  the  smallest  bladder  imaginable.  The  sac  is  the 
embryo-sac  and  the  small  body  or  cell  is  the  embryo  in  its 
primary  state. 

Now  although  nature  has  provided  that  this  little  cell  should 
be  present  its  future  growth  is  dependent  on  whether  or  no  the 
stigma  has  received  from  a  stamen  the  golden  dust,  or  pollen. 
In  fact,  it  can  never  become  other  than  what  it  originally  is  un- 
less the  process  of  fertilization  has  taken  place.  When  this  is 
so,  however,  the  tiny  grain  of  powder  that  alights  on  the  moist 
surface  of  the  stigma,  sends  forth  from  its  under  side  a  minute 
tube.  It  pierces  down  through  the  stigma  and  style  until  it 
reaches  the  orifice  of  the  ovule,  then  it  enters  the  embryo-sac 
and  finally  touches  and  quickens  the  little  cell  into  life.  Within 
this  vitalized  germ  there  are  usually  some  tiny  grains,  a  muci- 
laginous liquid  and  a  pulpy  mass,  or  its  nucleus.  As  we  have 
already  seen  they  are  all  enclosed  in  a  fine,  membranous  coat. 
We  have  here  then  a  typical  cell,  as  it  is  generally  called,  and 
one  that  is  the  ancestor  of  all  the  countless  millions  of  similar 
ones  that  combine  to  form  the  structure  of  a  small  plant  or  the 
greatest  tree.  It  is  simply  by  the  expansion  and  multiplication 
of  such  cells  that  growth  takes  place. 

After  this  first  cell  has  enlarged  to  its  limit,  it  forms  a  cross 
partition  which  divides  it  into  two  cohering  cells.  Soon 
another  one  forms  a  partition  and  divides  into  two  more  cells  ; 
and  so  they  continue  to  increase  and  to  form  the  hypocotyl  of 
the  embryo.  It  is  thus  that,  encased  in  its  brown  seed  coat,  the 
miniature  tree  or  embryo  is  formed  and  begins  to  grow.  As  it 
does  so  it  draws  freely  on  the  nourishing  matter  that  in  various 
forms  it  finds  close  at  hand. 

Dame  Nature  never  forgets,  and  so  well  equipped  is  the  em- 
bryo that  when  it  touches  the  soil  and  begins  to  germinate,  it 
has  but  to  continue  the  multiplication  of  its  cells,  or  as  more 
generally  expressed,  to  increase  in  cellular  tissue ;  to  assume 
the  upright  position  of  a  tree  and  to  bear  its  two  first  leaves 
upward  to  the  light  and  air.     At  the  same  time  from  the  bottom 


UNFOLDING 
EMBRYO  IN  SEED  COAT  EMBRYO 


WINOeOSEEO 


PLUMULE,  COTYLEDONS 
HYPOCOTYL  AND  ROOTS 


VNFOLDING     PIANTLET  0' 
HORSE  CHESTNUT 


PLATE  I. 

(21) 


OERMINATINO  PLANTLET 
OP  MAPLE 


22  THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  TREES. 

of  its  stem  the  root  begins  to  grow  and  to  take  a  firm  hold  on 
the  nourishing  soil. 

This  rudimentary  plantlet,  as  has  been  already  said,  can  be 
readily  seen  by  cutting  open  the  seeds  of  a  maple  tree,  it  being 
one  accessible  to  many,  and  the  horse-chestnut  seeds  also  show 
it  in  another  of  its  numerous  forms.  To  see  something  of  cell 
formation,  it  is  only  necessary  to  magnify  the  young  stem  or 
leaves  of  a  plant,  or  better  still  the  young  root  ends  which, 
being  more  transparent,  are,  for  the  purpose,  admirable. 

The  growth  of  the  tree,  therefore,  is  in  two  directions.  The 
stem,  or  trunk,  grows  uprightly,  elongates  and  sends  forth 
branches  to  uphold  as  large  a  surface  of  foliage  as  possible  which 
drinks  in  abundantly  desired  gases  from  the  air  and  assimilates 
also  the  nourishment  the  roots  have  absorbed  from  the  soil. 
The  roots  in  another  way  seek  to  lengthen  themselves  in  the 
pliable  soil  and  assiduously  to  avoid  the  light  of  day. 

When  the  hypocotyl,  or  little  stem  of  the  embryo,  has  suffi- 
ciently grown  to  bear  above  the  two  seed  leaves,  we  notice  that 
it  continues  to  elongate,  and  that  between  the  cotyledons  two 
tiny  buds,  or  the  plumule,  appear  on  this  newly  formed  stem. 
They  foretell  the  second  pair  of  leaves  and  we  may  regard 
them  as  having  been  raised  on  the  stem's  second  joint.  In 
shape  they  resemble  more  closely  that  of  the  regular  foliage  of 
the  tree  than  do  the  cotyledons  which  in  outline  are  always 
very  simple.  In  some  plantlets,  even  before  germination,  we 
find  between  the  cotyledons  these  little  buds  or  forerunners  of 
the  second  pair  of  leaves.     {Plate  J.) 

To  elongate  the  stem,  therefore,  joint  by  joint,  and  to  unfold 
the  leaves  that  it  bears  at  the  summit  is  the  manner  of  upward 
growth  ;  and  it  is  by  this  untiring  and  unchanging  repetition 
of  itself  that  the  little  plantlet  becomes  a  tree. 

The  growth  of  the  root  is  in  a  different  way.  At  the  begin- 
ning, as  we  have  seen,  the  root  was  a  new  growth  from  the  base 
of  the  hypocotyl  ;  and  so  throughout  its  entire  course  of  ex- 
istence, it  is  new  growth  that  proceeds   from  the   extremities. 


PLATE  11.     GERMINATING  MAPLE. 

(23) 


24  THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  TREES. 

This  fresh,  young  growth  pushes  itself  through  the  open  soil 
and  freely  imbibes  nutrition  until  in  its  turn  it  becomes  old 
and  stolid  and  only  of  use  to  produce  new  shoots.  The  old 
roots  remain  firmly  in  the  ground  as  they  at  first  grew  and  do 
not  elongate  themselves  joint  by  joint  as  do  the  stems.  This 
arrangement  is  simply  a  very  wise  conformance  to  circum- 
stances. With  ease  and  freedom  the  branches  and  leaves  can 
move  in  the  atmospheric  air  that  enshrouds  them  ;  but  it 
would  sadly  interfere  with  the  tenacity  of  the  roots'  hold  on 
the  soil  to  be  continually  changing  their  position. 

As  we  shall,  in  this  book,  confine  ourselves  to  the  study  of 
trees  and  some  shrubs,  those  that  have  exogenous  stems,  it 
would  perhaps  be  well  for  us  to  leave  for  awhile  the  little  plant- 
let  in  its  upright  position  with  its  parts  beginning  to  grow, 
{^Plate  II?)  and  to  look  further  into  the  material  of  which  it  is 
constructed.  The  soft  tissue  alone,  while  being  sufficient  for 
mosses  and  the  lower  forms  of  plant-life,  would  be  too  yielding 
to  uphold  the  weight  of  foliage  that  is  borne  by  a  tree.  At  a 
very  early  stage,  therefore,  in  large  embryos,  sometimes  even 
while  they  are  in  their  seed  coat,  we  find  traces  of  wood-fibre. 
It  occurs  also  in  herbs  only  in  a  much  smaller  proportion  than 
in  trees  or  shrubs.  These  wood  cells,  or  wood  fibre,  which  we 
find  in  the  wood  that  surrounds  the  central  pith  are  very  sim- 
ilar in  construction  to  those  that  form  the  soft  tissue  ;  only 
they  soon  lengthen  and  harden  and  thicken  their  walls.  Their 
tapering  ends  also  usually  overlap  each  other  in  a  way  that 
gives  to  them  additional  strength.  Again  in  the  wood  there 
are  ducts  :  cells  which  have  grown  large  and  long  and  join  to- 
gether so  as  to  form  channels,  or  tubes  that  run  lengthwise 
through  the  wood.  They  do  not  thicken  their  walls.  Instead, 
the  so-called  dotted  ducts  are  variously  marked,  sometimes 
with  thin  places,  like  dots  and  which  become  Jioles  as  they 
grow  older,  while  spiral  or  annual  ducts  are  bound  with  spirally- 
coiled  fibres,  or  bands.  From  the  ends  of  young  shoots  it  is 
often  quite  possible  to  uncoil  this  filmy  thread  and  in  doing  so 


Wood. 


Inner  bark.  Outer  bark. 


I.  Central  pHh. 

a .  Med II II a ry  shea th . 

3.  Wood. 

4.  Dotted  ducts. 


5.  Cambiuin  layer. 

6.  Sieve  tubes. 

7.  Soft  bast  cells. 

8.  Hard  bast  cells. 


9.  Vessels. 

10.  Green  inner  layer. 

11.  Corky  layer. 

12.  Epidermis. 


(25) 


D.  H.   HILL  LIBRARY 

North  Carolina  State  College 


26  THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  TREES. 

it  will  be  noticed  how  much  it  has  strengthened  the  wall  of  the 
cell.     {Plate  HI) 

Running  vertically  throughout  the  wood  there  is  also  a  set 
of  thin  plates  of  cellular  tissue.  They  are  the  medullary  rays  ; 
and  it  is  to  them  that  is  owing  the  beautiful  silver  grain  in 
many  varieties  of  wood.  The  feature  is  one  that  is  easily 
noticed. 

In  the  liber,  the  inner  bark  which  covers  the  wood,  the  wood 
cells  grow  longer  and  finer  than  they  do  in  the  wood  proper. 
They  appear  more  like  fibres  and  are  extremely  tough.  Bast- 
cells,  or  bast-fibres,  are  the  names  by  which  they  are  known. 
{Plate  III) 

The  outer  bark  is  made  up  of  soft  cellular  tissue.  In  its 
green  or  inner  layer  the  cells  are  soft  and  delicate  and  have 
within  them  grains  of  green  colouring  matter  similar  to  those 
contained  in  the  leaves.  Early  in  the  tree's  growth  its  trunk 
becomes  covered  with  the  outer,  or  corky  layer,  a  substance 
the  same  as  our  common  cork.  It  is  admirably  adapted  to  pre- 
vent the  evaporation  of  the  ascending  fluids,and  to  it  is  due  the 
various  colourings  that  we  are  familiar  with  in  the  twigs  and 
branches  of  different  trees.  This  outer  bark,  it  must  be  re- 
membered, is  finally  covered  with  an  epidermis  which  is  also 
a  layer  of  cells.     {Plate  III) 

Such  is  the  order  in  which  we  should  find  arranged  the  stem 
of  a  young  exogenous  tree  in  the  first  or  second  season  of  its 
growth  ;  and  it  should  now  be  of  interest  to  us  to  see  how  it 
increases  year  after  year  in  diameter. 

The  age  of  a  tree  is  approximately  known  by  counting  its  con- 
centric rings  of  wood  ;  as  every  year  it  generally  forms  only 
one  new  layer  of  wood  outside  of  the  old  one.  The  liber  also 
makes  an  annual  growth,  but  inside  of  that  of  the  year  before, 
and  next  to  the  surface  of  the  new  forming  wood.  These  ad- 
joining, parts  of  the  stem  are  the  only  two  that  are  annually 
renewed.  The  process  is  most  interesting.  Between  the  wood 
and  the  inner  side  of  the  liber  there  is  a  layer  called  the  cam- 


THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  TREES.  27 

bium  layer  which  unites  the  two.  {Plate  HI.)  It  is  composed 
of  young  and  delicate  cells.  In  the  spring,  a  rich  sap,  some- 
thing like  mucilage  in  appearance,  begins  to  flow  freely  and 
to  supply  to  them  abundant  nourishment.  As  they  then  begin 
to  increase  in  a  manner  that  has  been  already  mentioned,  the 
inner  ones  attach  themselves  to  the  wood,  while  the  outer  ones 
are  added  to  the  liber  ;  and  it  is  in  this  way  that  the  two  an- 
nual layers  which  really  renew  the  life  of  the  trunk  are  formed. 

With  the  bark  it  is  different :  the  green  layer  seldom  increases 
much  after  the  first  year  of  its  growth  ;  and  although  the 
corky  layer  often  makes  from  year  to  year  new  growth  inside 
of  the  old,  after  a  time  it  all  dies.  It  has  to  contend  with  the 
roughness  of  the  elements,  and  it  is  especially  hurt  by  being 
stretched  beyond  its  endurance  by  the  growing  wood  and  liber 
within.  Finally  it  cracks  apart  and  the  rift  is  patched  by  the 
formation  of  new  corky  layers.  As  the  outer  bark  vanishes, 
the  enlarged  sheath  of  bark  is  thus  torn  and  patched  each  suc- 
ceeding year.  The  outer  and  older  layers  of  the  much  mended 
garment  of  the  tree  are  constantly  falling  off  and  decaying.  In 
old  trees  the  cambium  layer  and  the  cells  recently  formed  from 
it  only  are  alive.  Furthermore  it  is  only  in  the  younger  wood 
that  sap  ascends.  As  the  wood  in  each  annual  ring  grows 
older  the  walls  of  its  cells  harden  and  thicken,  and  it  is  no 
longer  regarded  as  a  living  part  of  the  tree.  It  is  the  heart- 
wood  and,  owing  to  its  dryness  and  hardness,  is  chosen  in 
preference  to  the  living  sap-wood  for  timber.  In  different 
species  of  trees  a  colouring  matter  peculiar  to  each  is  deposited 
in  the  cells  of  the  heart-wood  and  it  is  therefore  of  various 
shades.     Black  in  ebony  may  be  cited  as  an  example. 

As  we  have  now  thought  somewhat  about  the  growth  of  the 
tree  in  height  and  in  diameter,  we  may  begin  to  concern  our- 
selves about  its  branching  ;  for  we  shall  have  little  to  do  with 
simple-stemmed  plants,  or  those  which  are  known  as  monocoty- 
ledonous,  their  embryos  having  but  one  seed  leaf.  Our  path 
leads  us  rather  among  dicotyledonous  trees,  which  are  so  called 


28  THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  TREES. 

from  the  fact  of  their  having  two  cotyledons  in  the  embryo, 
and  among  those  that  have  more  than  two,  which  is  a  peculiar- 
ity of  the  pine  family.     {Plate  IV.) 

We  can  hardly  fail  to  notice  when  looking  at  a  young  plant- 
let  with  what  perfect  symmetry  its  leaves  are  arranged  on  the 
stem,  and  as  it  continues  to  grow  much  of  this  same  order  is 
maintained  even  should  it  be  become  the  largest  tree.  It  is 
not  strange  then  that  branches  show  much  of  this  same  sym- 
metry of  arrangement ;  for  they  follow  precisely  in  the  wake  of 
the  leaves.  Early  in  the  summer,  in  the  axils  of  the  leaves  and 
at  their  upper  sides,  we  see  that  buds  begin  to  appear.  They 
are  axillary  buds,  and  are  the  progenitors  of  branches.  When 
they  begin  to  grow  they  pursue  the  same  course  of  develop- 
ment as  did  the  first  stem  which  sprang  from  the  embryo  with 
the  little  buds  between  the  cotyledons.  In  the  same  way  they 
grow,  joint  upon  joint ;  each  one  elongating  and  throwing  out 
leaves  at  its  summit.  Other  buds  are  formed  in  the  angles  of 
their  leaves  and  they  also  become  leaf-bearing  branches  ;  and 
so  is  this  simple  process  repeated  while  the  structure  of  the 
tree  is  building.  The  only  difference  between  the  growth  of  a 
branch  and  that  of  a  germinating  plantlet  is  that  th*".  branch  is 
embedded  in  the  larger  stem  and  draws  from  it  its  sustenance, 
while  the  young  stem  had  to  forage  for  itself  and  strike  out 
roots  into  the  ground.  It  sometimes  happens  that  buds  begin 
to  grow  shortly  after  they  first  appear,  and  again  they  lie  dor- 
mant and  hidden  until  the  spring  of  the  next  year. 

Little  in  the  life  of  the  tree  is  more  interesting  than  the  ten- 
der care  Nature  bestows  on  these  young  offsprings.  Her  wis- 
dom is  very  great ;  for  should  the  delicate  buds  be  ruthlessly 
exposed  to  sudden  changes  of  temperature,  or  to  intense  cold, 
they  would  assuredly  perish,  and  the  next  season  no  branches 
would  be  forthcoming.  The  button-wood  and  locusts  illustrate 
to  us  one  unique  way  of  guarding  leaf-buds  from  all  harm. 
Apparently  the  base  of  the  leaf-stalk  is  swollen  ;  but  when 
it  is  detached  from  the  stem  and  examined,  it  is  found  to  be 


PLATE  IV.     GERMINATING  PINE. 
(29) 


30  THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  TREES. 

hollow  on  the  inside  in  the  shape  of  a  tiny  candle  ex- 
tinguisher; and  this  is  so,  simply  because  it  is  planned  to  fit 
snugly  over  the  leaf-bud  that  within  it  lies  concealed.  {Plate 
F.)  Other  buds  are  large  and  scaly :  they  are  the  ones  most 
general  in  northern  climates.  Those  of  the  horse-chestnut 
tree  are  very  handsome.  {Plate  V.)  Their  scales  are  large 
and  leaf-like,  and  so  enwrapped  about  the  tender  parts  within 
as  to  effectually  protect  them  from  violent  changes  of  temper- 
ature. To  further  abet  them  in  this  object  they  are  lined  with 
a  soft  wool,  and  on  the  outside  are  often  covered  with  a  sub- 
stance similar  to  varnish.  It  is  quite  impregnable  to  damp- 
ness. To  open  one  of  these  strong  buds  seems  almost  like 
prying  into  futurity;  for  there  in  miniature  are  to  be  found 
several  pairs  of  leaves,  and  even  the  buds  of  the  blossoms. 

Trees  that  are  not  subject  to  branching,  or  those  of  the 
monocotyledonous  division  of  endogens,  rely  for  their  growth 
on  terminal  buds.  Although  branches  are  borne  by  the  spruces, 
still  their  terminal  buds  are  also  splendid  examples  of  those 
that,  unless  unfortunately  destroyed,  prolong  the  main  stem 
throughout  the  tree's  whole  course  of  existence.  They  ever 
remain  distinct  from  the  branches  that  proceed  from  them,  and 
never  lose  their  own  identity. 

There  are  trees,  however,  that  bear  both  terminal  and  axil- 
lary buds  :  the  maples  and  horse-chestnuts  are  common  exam- 
ples. (Plate  V.)  In  such  cases  the  terminal  buds  perform  the 
same  elongation  of  the  branch  as  they  do  in  single-stemmed 
trees,  and  the  axillary  buds  are  also  true  to  their  purpose  of 
producing  new  branches.  Usually  the  terminal  buds  of  these 
trees  are  the  most  vigourous,  and  next  to  them  the  upper  axillary 
buds  have  the  greatest  strength.  Should,  however,  misfortune 
overtake  any  of  these  stronger  buds,  the  opportunity  would  be 
quickly  seized  by  some  weaker  one  to  appropriate  its  nourish- 
ment and  to  grow.  In  fact,  latent  buds  lie  dormant  and  some- 
times concealed  under  the  bark  for  years,  and  patiently  await 
just  some  such  chance  to  begin  their  work.     Their  mission  is 


Hidden  buds  of 
button-ivood. 


Ttrminal  and  axil- 
lary buds  0/  maple. 


Scaly  bud  0/ 
horsechestnut. 


PLATE  V. 

(31) 


32  THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  TREES. 

rather  noble.  It  is  to  quietly  see  their  stronger  rivals  flourish 
until  death  overtakes  them,  and  then  to  step  calmly  in  and  fill 
for  them  their  places. 

The  existence  of  a  young  bud,  however,  is  a  precarious  one. 
It  has  many  difficulties  with  which  to  contend.  Often  the 
want  of  nourishment  or  light  stunts  its  development ;  insects 
devour  it,  or  a  belated  frost  nips  it  in  its  early  youth.  The  race 
is  truly  one  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest.  And  how  great  is  the 
wisdom  of  this  plan,  is  readily  seen,  for  should  every  leaf-bud 
be  allowed  to  grow,  there  would  be  as  many  branches  the  next 
year  as  there  were  leaves  the  one  preceding  ;  and  this  would 
of  course  overburden  the  tree.  Much  of  the  perfect  symmetry 
with  which  leaves  are  arranged  is  therefore  lost  in  the  branches. 
Within  the  tree,  also,  there  is  an  instinct  of  self-preservation 
which  prompts  it  to  produce  buds  on  the  wood  wherever  it  has 
been  injured.  They  are  the  adventitious  buds,  and  eventually 
develop  into  the  little  lawless  twigs  which  we  so  commonly 
see  on  many  trees  ;  the  poplars  and  willows  especially. 

When  a  tree  makes  what  is  called  a  definite  annual  growth, 
the  young  shoots  of  the  season  burst  boldly  forth  from  the 
buds,  in  which,  it  must  be  remembered,  their  parts  are  already 
formed,  and  within  a  few  weeks,  or  perhaps  days,  attain  their 
whole  growth  for  that  year.  They  then  bestir  themselves  to 
form  and  ripen  their  buds  for  the  next  season's  similar  and 
rapid  growth.  Other  forms  of  trees  make  an  indefinite  annual 
growth.  Throughout  the  summer  their  stems  grow  without 
ceasing,  until  touched  perhaps  by  an  early  autumn  frost.  They 
take  no  time  to  form  and  ripen  a  terminal  bud,  and  their  upper 
axillary  ones  are  produced  so  late  in  the  season  that  they  can- 
not properly  mature.  The  growth  of  the  next  year,  therefore, 
is  mostly  dependent  on  lower  axillary  buds  which  are  better 
equipped.  No  main  stem  could  possibly  be  continued  in  this  way, 
and  soon  the  trunk  is  broken  up  into  branches,  which  in  the 
same  way  divide  and  sub-divide  into  innumerable  other  branches 
and  branchlets.     The  trunk  of  the  American  elm  serves  as  a 


THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  TREES.        ^s 

good  example  of  this  system  ;  and,  in  fact,  all  the  rounded  and 
spreading  tops  of  trees  are  the  outcome  of  this  mode  of  growth. 

Following  these  general  principles  and  with  many  variations 
in  details,  trees  grow  from  their  seeds  and  throw  out  from  leaf- 
buds  their  branches.  It  is  only  by  a  close  observation  of  them 
that  we  can  begin  to  appreciate  the  fineness  of  their  organism. 
They  leave  nothing  to  chance.  Even  in  the  seed  we  have  seen 
something  of  their  careful  advance  preparation,  and  also  how 
when  overtaken  by  it  they  are  equally  able  to  meet  misfortune. 
It  is  to  this  wonderful  readiness  that  we  owe  the  sudden  and 
luxurious  burst  of  foliage  in  the  spring.  The  buds  that  have 
been  nurtured  throughout  the  winter  then  await  only  the  soft, 
warm  touch  of  spring  to  open  and  lengthen  their  joints,  that  the 
unfolding  leaves  may  be  sufficiently  separated  from  each  other. 
Very  little,  if  any,  of  the  earliest  vegetation  comes  directly  from 
the  seed. 

Trees  are  so  often  regarded  simply  as  masses  of  foliage  that 
much  of  the  beauty  and  fragrance  of  their  blossoms  is  lost  by 
the  unobservLng.  In  the  earlv  spring  many  of  them  are  laden 
with  exquisite  flowers,  and  all  of  the  trees  bloom.  Their  flowers 
grow  from  buds  ;  and  buds  that  appear  at  the  same  places  as  do 
leaf-buds.  They  are  always  either  terminal  or  axillary,  and 
never  occur  where  a  branch  might  riot  have  occurred.  Scientists 
tell  us  that  the  flower  is  nothing  more  than  a  suddenly  arrested 
branch  which  the  plant,  to  fulfil  certain  purposes,  has  so 
transformed. 

When  the  flower-bud  unfolds,  its  axis  does  not  lengthen  as 
does  that  of  the  branch  ;  but  it  remains  almost  as  short  as 
when  in  the  bud.  The  leaves  then,  transformed  into  sepals 
and  petals,  remain  closely  together,  and  either  are  spirally  ar- 
ranged after  the  manner  of  leaves,  or  they  alternate  in  whorls. 
The  stamens  of  a  flower  are  generally  regarded  as  modified 
leaves  ;  and  a  simple  pistil  is  plainly  a  leaf  with  its  margins  so 
folded  together  as  to  form  an  enclosure,  or  the  cavity  of  the 
ovary.     The  apex  is  extended  into  the  style,  while  the  edges  of 


34  THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  TREES. 

the  leaf  that  remain  outward  form  the  stigma.  That  the 
flower  is  a  charming  device  for  the  purpose  of  producing  fruit 
and  seeds,  we  know  well  ;  and  even  though  it  may  not  always 
be  beautiful  there  is  usually  attached  to  it  some  peculiar  interest. 

While  the  tree  is  making  this  visible  growth  above  ground, 
we  must  not  forget  that  under  the  soil  its  roots  are  busy  branch- 
ing and  extending  themselves  that  they  may  hold  firmly  the 
tree  in  its  upright  position,  and  drain  from  the  soil  more  nour- 
ishment to  supply  its  increased  growth.  The  simple  root  that 
first  grows  downward  from  the  end  of  the  embryo  remains,  in 
many  instances,  for  a  long  time  the  main  root,  {Plate  VI.)  and 
from  it  sends  off  side  branches  ;  more  often,  however,  it  soon 
divides  up  into  branches  that  in  their  turn  again  branch.  As 
has  been  mentioned,  it  is  the  fresh  young  roots  that  absorb  the 
nourishment  from  the  soil.  To  aid  them  in  so  doing  their  sur- 
faces are  sometimes  closely  covered  with  root  hairs.  These 
are  simply  elongations  of  the  surface,  or  cells  that  are  pro- 
jected, and  their  thin  coverings  allow  them  greedily  to  imbibe 
moisture  into  their  tube-like  interiors.  It  is  from  these  well- 
supplied  young  roots  that  the  sap  is  drawn  up  to  feed  the 
leaves  and  growing  parts  of  the  tree. 

This  upward  rise  of  the  sap  from  the  roots  to  the  leaves  is  a 
subject  of  much  interest.  It  takes  place  principally  through 
the  wood  cells.  And  yet  each  one  of  these  cells  is  a  closed  and 
separate  cavity;  they  in  no  way  open  into  each  other  as  is  gen- 
erally supposed.  By  what  means,  then,  we  may  ask,  does  the 
sap  pass  through  them.  It  is  possible  for  it  to  do  so  because, 
although  there  are  no  holes  in  the  young  cells,  there  are  thin 
places  in  their  thick  walls  ;  and  the  passage  through  is  further 
facilitated  by  the  thin  place  in  one  cell  connecting  with  the  thin 
place  in  the  wall  of  the  adjoining  cell.  That  the  leaves  are 
able  to  draw  the  contents  of  these  cells  up  to  them  from  the 
roots,  while  seemingly  most  wonderful  is  by  a  natural  law. 

We  find  that,  whenever  two  fluids  of  different  degrees  of  dens- 
ity are  separated  from  each  other  by  a  membranous  partition, 


PLATE  VI.     GERMINATING  OAK,  SHOWING  MAIN  ROOT. 
(35) 


S6  THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  TREES. 

the  heavier  fluid  will  attract  to  itself  the  lighter  one  until 
they  both  become  of  the  same  degree  of  density.  In  the  cells 
of  the  young  roots  there  is  living  organic  matter,  mucilage  and 
protoplasm,  and  the  fluid  is  naturally  denser  than  the  liquid 
they  attract  from  the  soil.  The  flow  is,  therefore,  necessarily 
into  them.  The  leaves,  however,  throw  off  into  the  air  as 
vapours  a  vast  amount  of  the  water  they  contain ;  especially  is 
this  demand  made  in  dry  weather.  In  fact,  they  exhale  more 
freely  than  any  other  part  of  the  tree.  The  organic  matter 
which  then  remains  in  them  is,  as  will  be  readily  seen,  more 
dense  than  that  of  the  stalks  which  have  not  given  out  their 
moisture  so  freely.  The  leaves,  therefore,  call  on  the  stalks  for 
an  upward  flow  of  the  contents  of  their  cells.  In  the  same  way 
the  stalks  call  on  the  stems,  and  so  on  is  the  demand  made 
until  the  watery  fluid  of  the  root-ends  is  reached  and  drawn  up- 
ward to  the  leaves,  or  buds  or  any  growing  part  of  the  tree. 

After  the  sap  has  been  assimilated  by  these  parts  growth 
begins,  and  in  their  own  mysterious  way  they  shape  themselves. 
Later  the  sap  flows  downward  through  the  cambium  layer,  and 
is  again  sent  to  parts  where  the  tree  needs  it  most. 

The  assimilation  of  the  crude  sap  is  done  in  the  green  part 
of  the  tree,  and  only  is  it  accomplished  when  the  brightest  day- 
light or  the  rays  of  the  sun  are  shining  upon  them.  New  tissue 
is  then  building,  while  useless  matter  is  ejected.  The  tran- 
spiratory  organs  of  the  leaves,  innumerable  minute  openings 
called  stomata,  are  on  their  under  surfaces.  They  open  and 
close.  Then,  too,  the  carbonic  acid  gas  and  water  that  the 
tree  has  absorbed  from  the  earth  and  air  are  digested  and 
given  out  abundantly  as  oxygen  gas.  This  is  finally  the  grand 
purpose  of  the  vegetable  world  ;  to  convert  inorganic  matter 
into  that  which  is  organic,  or  to  produce  the  food  that  is  nec- 
essary for  all  animal  life. 


PLATE  VII.     GREAT- FLOWERED   MAGNOLIA.     Mai^moli^i  fa'tida. 


COPrniGHT,    1900,    BY  FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY. 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


Trees  Preferring  to  Grow   Near   Water: 
in  Swamps  and  by  Running  Streams. 

Obscurity  can  never  hang  over  tJic  sivamps  nor  can  the  trail  of 
a  stream  be  Jiiddcn  ;  for  guarding  their  borders  are  the  trees, 
heavily  laden  perhaps  witJi  the  moisture  they  have  imbibed 
from  the  near  boater.  They  ceaselessly  stir  in  the  breezes  and 
throw  into  the  air  their  life-giving  vapours  and  sweetness. 
Under  their  shade  the  luild,  vagrant  flowers  live  and  die. 
They  gild  the  stream's  borders  zvithgold  and  line  the  swamps 
zvith  crimson.  When  dimness  touches  them,  the  trees  bestir 
themselves  to  carry  the  flower  s  seeds  aivay,  or  they  toss  them 
in  the  water  which  floats  them  to  another  shore. 

Do  the  trees  know  the  floivcrs  will  come  again  ;  a?td  does 
hope  still  zvhisper  to  them  when  their  oivn  leaves  have  fallen 
and  the  mirthful  water  is  frozen  to  stillness  ? 

QREAT-FLOWERED  flAQNOLIA.  BULL  BAY.  (Plate  VII.) 

JSIagnblia  fatida. 


FAMILY 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE, 

TIME  OF  BLOOM 

I\Iagnolici. 

Roiot  d-  topped. 

60-80 /f^/. 

North  Carolina  south- 
ward and  '.uestward. 

April,  June. 
A  tigust,  nortJiward. 

Lower  bark:  brownish  grey,  with  appressed  scales  about  one  inch  in 
length.  Branches:  lighter  in  colour,  thin,  smooth.  Leaves:  simple;  alter- 
nate; entire;  with  stout  petioles;  ovate,  five  to  eight  inches  long  and  two  to 
three  inches  broad;  evergreen  ;  thick ;  bright  green  above  and  shiny.  The  winter 
buds  and  petioles  covered  on  the  under  side  with  a  rusty  looking  tomentum. 
Flowers  :  cream-white  ;  very  fragrant ;  seven,  eight  or  twelve  inches  in  di- 
ameter; solitary  and  terminal  at  the  ends  of  the  branches.  Sepals:  petal-like. 
Petals :  six,  nine  or  twelve  ;  oval ;  concave.  Base  of  the  receptacle  and  lower 
parts  of  the  filaments  bright  purple.  Fruit:  large;  ovate;  rusty  brown; 
pubescent;  of  many  pods.  Seeds:  flattened  on  one  side;  slightly  triangular  ; 
when  released  from  the  pods  they  hang  by  threads. 

When   this  tree,  so  severe  and  simple  in   the  outline  of  its 


38 


TREES  GROWING  NEAR  WATER. 


Magnblia  /ietida . 


shining  foliage,  throws  out  its  blos- 
soms, it  appears  almost  as  though  a 
great  flock  of  something  white  and 
unearthly  had  alighted  among  its 
branches.  And  as  they  lean  upon 
the  warm,  sunny  air  they  exhale  a  per- 
fume that  is  no  less  mystifying.  At 
least,  some  lasting  impression  must 
cling  to  those  that  see  it  in  bloom 
for  the  first  time.  To  others,  how- 
ever, that  have  from  childhood  walked 
in  the  southern  streets  and  gardens 
shaded  by  these  trees,  it  is  simply  said  : 
"  the  magnolias  are  in  bloom."  It  quite 
suffices.  Undoubtedly  the  tree  is  the 
most  beautiful  and  ornamental  one  of  America  and  it  is  to  be 
regretted  that  while  evergreen  in  the  south  it  is  only  precari- 
ously hardy  as  far  northward  as  Philadelphia.  It  then  blooms 
as  late  in  the  season  as  early  August.  As  it  leaves  the  coast 
and  travels  inland,  it  seeks  for  its  home  the  seclusion  of  the 
forests  instead  of  the  banks  of  rivers  and  swamps.  On  the 
bluffs  of  the  Mississippi  it  is  also  found  in  a  state  of  splendid 
development. 

Rose-beetles  seek  the  flowers  just  as  they  are  beginning  to 
open  and  are  frequeatly  held  prisoners  beneath  the  three  inner 
petals  which  vault  over  the  stigmas.  Here  they  find,  in  the 
early  days  of  spring,  a  warm  and  fragrant  shelter,  and  the 
honey  that  lies  on  the  stigmas  provides  for  them  a  continuous 
feast.  When  the  sepals  and  petals  fall  they  fly  away,  laden 
with  pollen  in  search  of  another  abode  ;  and  so  they  regularly 
accomplish  the  fertilization  of  the  tree.  Self-fertilization  is 
prevented  from  the  fact  that  the  stigmas  mature  before  the 
anthers. 

The  wood  of  the  great-flowered  magnolia  is  more  valuable 
than  that  of  any  other  one  of  the  genus.     It  is  of  a  strong  and 


PLATE  VIM.     SMALL   MAGNOLIA.     J  A?  i,--;/ <'//</  l'/rir'//uiJi.i. 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,    By  FREDERICK  A.   STOKES  COMPANY 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  NEAR  WATER.  39 

fibrous  nature.  Although  it  is  mostly  used  for  fuel  it  is  quite 
worthy  of  a  place  in  cabinet  work.  As  is  true  of  all  the 
magnolias,  the  juice  of  the  tree  is  intensely  bitter  and  aromatic. 
It  has  been  used  as  a  tonic. 

It  is  interesting  to  reflect  that  the  beautiful  Council-tree  at 
Charleston,  South  Carolina,  was  a  magnolia.  According  to 
tradition  it  was  under  its  shade  that  on  the  twenty-first  of 
April,  1780,  General  Lincoln  held  a  council  with  his  officers 
and  many  citizens  of  Cliarleston  as  to  the  advisability  of 
retreating  before  the  British.  The  decision  was  in  the  nega- 
tive and  three  weeks  later  the  city  was  surrendered.  Until 
1849  ^'^^  magnolia  was  held  in  especial  veneration  by  the 
inhabitants  of  Charleston.  At  that  time  its  branches  spread 
themselves  over  a  space  of  more  than  two  hundred  square 
feet.  It  had  then  unfortunately  passed  into  the  possession  of 
one  who,  being  devoid  of  all  sentiment,  ruthlessly  chopped  it 
down  for  fire-wood. 

SMALL  MAGNOLIA.     SWEET  BAY.     LAUREL  HAQ- 
NOLIA.     SWAflP  SASSAFRAS.     {Plate  VIII.) 

Magnblia    Virgi7tiaiia. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Magnolia.         Slender.         ^o-yo/eei.        Eastern  Mass.  southward  to  May-August. 

Florida,  westiuard  to  Texas. 

Bark:  light  brown  or  greyish,  covered  with  thin  appressed  scales.  Bnuich- 
lets:  bright  green  the  first  year,  becoming  reddish  brown  with  age.  Leaves: 
simple;  alternate;  entire;  obovate ;  pointed,  with  distinct  midrib;  thick; 
(lark  green  above  and  shiny,  downy  and  whitish  underneath.  FloTvers  :  white; 
fragrant;  two  to  three  inches  in  diameter;  solitary  and  terminal  at  the  ends  of 
the  branches.  Calyx :  of  three  sepals  on  the  receptacle.  Corolla :  broader 
than  high;  of  six  to  nine  rounded  petals.  Stamens:  numerous.  Pistils: 
numerous;  arranged  in  the  shape  of  a  cone.  Fruit :  cone-like  ;  red,  each  pod 
with  one  or  two  scarlet  seeds. 

It  is  only  in  the  north  that  this  exquisite  tree  is  reduced  to 
the  condition  of  a  shrub  of  from  about  four  to  twenty  feet 
high.  Its  bloom,  however,  is  quite  as  waxen  and  fragrant  as 
when  borne  on  the  more  stately  tree  of  the   south.     Another 


40 


TREES  GROWING  NEAR  WATER. 


Magnblia  Virginiana. 


difference  which  is  owing  to  their  lo- 
cality is  that  in  the  north  as  soon 
as  the  leaves  are  touched  by  the 
early  frost  of  November  they  fall  to 
the  ground,  while  in  the  south  they 
remain  on  the  tree  to  welcome  the  new 
and  unsophisticated  ones  of  the  next 
year.  Magnolia  Virginiana  is  one  of  the 
very  lovely  features  of  the  deep  New 
Jersey  swamps.  Its  wood  is  soft  and  of 
no  great  value,  although  throughout  the 
southern  states  it  is  sometimes  used  for 
the  making  of  small  wooden  utensils 
and  broom  handles. 


SOUR  GUM.  BLACK  GUM.  TUPELO.  PEPPERRIDGE. 

{Plate  IX.) 
Nyssa  sylvdtica. 


FAMILY 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE 

TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Dogwood. 

Branches^  horizontal. 

30-50  y><?/. 

Southern  Maine  to 
Mich igan  ami  south- 
ward to  Florida. 

April-June. 

Bark  :  grey  ;  rough ;  much  broken  in  small  pieces.  Leaves  :  simple  ;  alter- 
nate ;  entire ;  with  short  petioles  which  are  downy  when  young  ;  ellipti- 
cal ;  dark  green  above,  lighter  below ;  thick  ;  the  midrib  slightly  pubescent 
when  young.  Floivers :  greenish;  clustered  at  the  end  of  an  axillary  pedun- 
cle. Staminate  flowers  :  small;  numerous.  Pistillate  flowers  :  from  three  to 
fourteen  and  larger.  Fruit:  dark  blue  or  nearly  black;  about  one  half  an 
inch  long  and  enclosing  an  ovoid  and  slightly  ridged  stone ;  acrid  to  the  taste 
until  touched  by  the  frost. 

Although  the  sour  gum  tree  is  of  frequent  occurrence  in  the 
north,  it  seems  to  be  much  better  known  and  loved  throughout 
the  south.  It  is  there  incidental  in  many  amusing  stories  and 
anecdotes.  In  the  north  the  tree  is  frequently  mistaken 
for  a  beech  as  their  spray  and  foliage  are  somewhat  similar. 
Quite  as  early  as  August  its  leaves  begin  to  turn  a  brilliant 
crimson  which  almost  rivals  that  of  the  scarlet  maple.  The 
negroes  of  the  south  regard  the  tree  with  very  tender  affection 


Staminatefloiuer.         Fruit. 

PLATE  IX.     SOUR  GUM.     Nyssa  sylvatica. 
(40 


42 


TREES  GROWING  NEAR  WATER. 


and  that  the  opossums  climb  it  in  search  of  its    fruit   is   not 
unknown  to  them. 

De  possum  thought  he  kno'  de  world 

And  he  climb  de  old  gum  tree ; 
He  neber  saw  what  I  can  do 

When  my  surest  gun's  with  me. 

In  connection  with  the  old  plantation  days  of  the  south  a 
story  is  told  of  the  gum  tree.  Its  wood  is  very  hard  and  does 
not  split  readily,  and  it  was  therefore  thought  desirable  on 
Christmas  day  to  use  one  of  its  largest  trunks  as  the  back  log 
of  a  great  fire  that  was  kindled  on  the  hearth.  As  long  as  it 
burned  no  work  was  required  to  be  done  on  the  plantation. 
The  negroes  knew  this  custom  and  as  soon  as  the  sap  had 
ceased  to  flow  downward  in  the  autumn  they  would  cut  a  tree 
and  sink  it  in  the  river  bed.  There  it  peacefully  remained  and 
absorbed  water  ;  and  they  forgot  its  existence  until  shortly 
before  Christmas.  With  much  trepidation  it  was  then  taken 
up  and  presented  as  the  one  chosen  to  be  the  back  log.  In  its 
saturated  condition  it  naturally  burned,  when  once  ignited  by 
the  immense  heat  of  the  fire,  for  a  long  time.  It  sometimes 
smouldered  for  weeks  ;  and  we  may  imagine  with  what  innocent 
wonder  it  was  watched  by  those  enjoyin-g  the  holiday. 

In  Virginia  the  light  yellow  wood  of  the  gum  tree  is  used  in 

ship  building  ;  but  as  a  rule  it  is 
not  adapted  to  purposes  where  long 
lengths  are  needed.  It  is  admirable 
for  the  making  of  pulleys  and  the 
hubs  of  wheels. 

Nyssa  bijlhra,  or  water  tupelo, 
{Plate  X.)  is  a  very  similar  tree  to 
the  preceding  species  and  was  for- 
merly regarded  as  a  mere  variety. 
Its  foliage  and  fruit  are  smaller  and 
the  stone  that  the  drupe  encloses  is 
Nyssa  bijibra.  flattened  and  much  more  ridged  than 


A 


Pistil! a  te  flower.  Fr-  it  it. 

PLATE  X.     WATER  TUPELO.     Nyssa  biflora. 
(43) 


44  TREES  GROWING  NEAR  WATER. 

that  of  Nyssa  sylvatica.  Both  are  picturesque  trees,  especially 
in  the  autumn  when  their  brilliant  foliage  blazes  from  the  river's 
bank  and  they  are  hung  with  their  dark  blue  fruit. 

BLACK  ALDER.     VIRGINIA  WINTERBERRY.   {Plate  XI.) 

Ilex  verticillata. 


FAMILY 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE 

TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Holly. 

Bushy,  spreading. 

d-i^/eet. 

Nova  Scotia^  ivest^uard, 
and  to  Florida. 

May,  June. 
Fruit:    Sept.,  Oct. 

A  tall  shrub.  Branchlets :  greyish,  glabrous  or  pubescent.  Leaves:  about 
two  inches  long  ;  simple  ;  alternate  ;  with  short  petioles  ;  obovate  or  broadly 
lanceolate;  usually  pointed  at  both  ends  ;  coarsely  serrate;  dark  green  above 
and  glabrous  ;  paler  below  and  pubescent;  thick,  not  very  shiny.  Flowers: 
white;  six  to  eight  parted;  clustered  thickly  in  the  axils.  Drupes:  brilliant  red 
and  appearing  verticillate  in  manner  of  growth. 

In  what  is  called  the  dreary  season  of  the  year,  long  after 
the  time  when  its  leaves  have  turned  black  and  fallen,  there  is 
something  particularly  enchanting  about  this  coarse  shrub. 
Standing  out  ainid  the  misty  greyness  that  prevails  and  against 
perhaps  the  rich  brown  glow  of  some  distant  wood  its  lively 
coloured  berries  give  a  touch  of  hopefulness  to  the  landscape. 
In  fact  the  brightness  of  the  twigs  of  various  shrubs  adds  gleams 
of  colour  to  a  winter  scene  that  are  not  dreamt  of  by  the  un- 
observing. 

In  early  summer  its  blossoms  shine  clear  and  bright,  but  they 
are  modest,  retiring  little  things  and  do  not  claim  the  same 
attention  as  do  the  berries.  They  unfold  with  those  of  the 
common  elder,  its  relative  the  withe-rod  or  viburum  nudum  and 
the  lovely  small  magnolia.  By  them  the  swamps  and  low 
grounds  are  made  gay. 

WILD  YELLOW  PLUM.     WILD  RED  PLUM. 

CANADA  PLUM.     {Plate  XII.) 

Primus  Americana. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Plum.        Slender,  spreading.       8-35 /<r#^.         Canada  southward  to  April,  May, 

Florida  and  westward  Fruit:   Aug.,-Oci. 
to  Colorado. 

Bark:  bronze-green;  smooth;  thick.     Branches:  thorny.     Leaves:  simple; 
alternate ;    with   smooth,   reddish   petioles ;    oval   or  obovate,   with  pointed 


PLATE  XI.      BLACK  ALDER.      I l,x  v,rlicillata. 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,    BY  FREDERICK  *.  STOKES  COMPANY 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


Section  of  flower.  Fruit,  laid  open. 

PLATE  XII.     WILD  YELLOW  PLUM.     Primus  Americana. 

(45) 


46 


TREES  GROWING  NEAR  WATER. 


apex  and  pointed  or  rounded  base  ;  thin  ;  netted-veined;  sharply  and  doubly  or 
singly  serrate  ;  pubescent  beneath  in  the  angles  of  ribs  and  becoming  smooth 
at  maturity.  Flmvcrs  :  white  ;  growing  in  umbel-lilie  clusters  from  separate 
lateral  buds  and  usually  preceding  the  leaves.  Fruit :  a  dull  orange  or  crim- 
son drupe;  round  and  containing  a  flattened  stone  with  sharply  winged  edges  ; 
glabrous;  edible  with  a  pleasant  flavour.     The  skin  acrid  and  tough. 

As  the  specific  name  of  this  tree  im- 
plies it  is  a  native  of  America.  In  its 
wild  state  it  grows  along  the  borders  of 
streams  and  sometimes  seeks  the  shelter 
of  a  light  strip  of  woodland.  Occasion- 
ally it  is  planted  ;  but  it  is  much  better  to 
use  it  as  a  stock  upon  which  to  graft  some 
one  of  the  domestic  species  of  plums.  For 
this  purpose  its  hardiness  and  other  good 
qualities  make  it  suitable  and  many  excellent 
results  have  thus  been  obtained.  The  chief 
charm  of  the  tree  is  the  colour  of  its  ripe  fruit.  There  is  an 
almost  transparent  brightness  about  it  which  in  effect  is  most 
artistic.  At  the  season  of  its  ripening  housewives  were  for- 
merly very  much  on  the  alert  when  they  sought  the  fruit  and 
made  it  into  preserves. 


Priinus  A  mericana. 


CHOKE  CHERRY.     {Plate  CXLVI) 
Primus    Virginiaiia. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Plum,      Bushy^  spreading.       ^-i^/eet.      Ne7v  England  southward  April.,  May. 

to  Georgia  and  -westzvard  Fruit:  July.,  Aug. 
to  Colorado. 

Bark:  dark  grey.  Leaves:  simple;  alternate;  oval;  pointed;  finely  and 
sharply  serrate ;  thin.  Flowers:  white;  growing  compactly  in  a  short,  close 
raceme.  Calyx  :  tubular;  bell-shaped  ;  five-lobed.  Corolla  :  with  five  very  small 
petals,  i'/ffwtv/j ;  numerous.  Pistil :  ont.  Fruit:  A  bright  red  cherry  which 
turns  later  to  dark  crimson.  The  stone  and  kernel  are  flavoured  with  and 
contain  prussic  acid. 

By  the  side  of  the  streams  and  rivers  and  often  along  road- 
sides and  thickets  from  April  until  late  in  August  the  attention 
of  the  passer  by  is  caught  by  either  the  bloom  or  the  fruit  of  the 
choke-cherry.  It  is  always  a  shrub,  and  has  a  sprightly,  re- 
freshing aspect.     Little  birds  are  seen  alighting,  for  a  moment, 


r  LH  1  C    A  i 


Bu  TTkjiN  vvi^iju         I   uliiuiir''  Ot  t  l(itll/ilti,^ 


COPYBIGHT,    1900,   Br  FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANy 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  NEAR  WATER.  47 

on  its  branches  and  then  darting  in  and  out  as  though  en- 
couraging it  not  to  lose  a  gleam  of  sunshine  or  the  softest  mur- 
mur from  the  stream.  The  long,  cylindrical  bunches  of  fleecy 
blossoms  are  very  pretty,  but  they  quite  pale  before  the  exqui- 
site fruit  which  shows  many  shades  of  colour  before  settling 
down  to  the  dark  crimson  or,  rarely,  yellow  of  ripeness.  It  pro- 
vides, in  fact,  a  much  better  feast  for  the  eye  than  it  does  for 
the  palate,  and  although  the  experience  of  tasting  is  not  harmful, 
it  is  one  that  is  not  apt  to  be  soon  repeated. 

BUTTON-WOOD.     PLANE=TREE.     BUTTON-BALL  TREE. 

{Plate  XIII) 
Plat  anus  occt'dentdlls. 


FAMILY 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE 

TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Plane-tree. 

Wi 

ide  sfireaiiingy 

eo-igo/Vf/, 

Southern  .Maine  south- 

May. 

broad. 

or  hightr. 

ward  and  westward. 

Outer  bark :  dark  brown;  thin;  peeling  off  freel}'  and  showing  the  silver  white 
and  polished  inner  barU  ;  often  presenting  a  mottled  appearance.  Leaf-buds  : 
axillary  and  concealed  throughout  the  summer  and  winter  under  the  hollow 
base  of  the  leaf  petioles  and  being  thus  protected  until  the  next  spring.  Stipnles: 
like  sheaths.  Leaves  :  simple  ;  alternate;  with  downy  petioles;  orbicular,  with 
taper-pointed  apex  and  squared  or  cordate  base.  The  edge  coarsely  toothed  or 
often  three  to  five-lobed  ;  the  sinuses  between  them  rounded.  The  leaves  and 
petioles  become  smooth  at  maturity.  Flowers :  small,  in  round  heads;  monoe- 
cious. Fruit:  growing  closely  in  solitary  round  balls  which  hang  from  the  ends 
of  lony  wiry  |ieduncles.  They  become  dry  and  remain  on  the  branches  until 
well  on  into  the  winter,  or  until  their  seeds  are  scattered  by  the  wind. 

About  this  striking  tree  there  is  an  almost  matchless  dignity, 
and  its  bearing,  so  different  from  that  of  any  other,  has  caused 
it  to  be  very  generally  known.  On  all  sides  we  hear  it  said, 
"that  is  a  sycamore."  Unfortunately  this  name  is,  although  in 
error,  most  commonly  used.  We  should,  however,  accustom 
ourselves  to  calling  it  by  another  of  its  English  names.  The 
tree  at  times  grows  to  a  height  unrivalled  by  any  of  the 
Northeastern  American  forests,  and  it  lives  to  be  very  old.  An 
unusual  feature  about  it  is  the  way  in  which  the  outer  bark 
peels  off  as  the  season  advances  and  displays  the  polished 
inner  bark.  As  it  then  raises  these  white  almost  spotless 
branches  upward,  it  seems  as  though  the    tree    in    mute    elo- 


48 


TREES  GROWING  NEAR  WATER. 


quence  proclaims  that  it 
has  suffered  all  things.  It 
has  braved  the  fierceness 
of  tempests  and  watched 
the  struggling  of  many 
generations.  But  it  is  not 
dismayed  ;  and  when,  espe- 
cially in  the  moonlight,  its 
shimmering  branches  are 
seen  towering  above  other 
things  they  testify  that  it 
has  triumphed.  It  is  most 
pathetic  to  see  the  tree 
"^  when  it  has  at  last  suc- 
cumbed and  is  about  to  die. 
Stripped  of  its  foliage  and 
its  swinging  balls  of  fruit, 
it  appears  a  gaunt  figure 
upon  the  landscape. 
The  wood  is  reddish  brown 
and  has  a  most  beautiful  grain.  It  is  used  for  the  interior 
finish  of  houses  although  it  is  quite  prone  to  crack.  The 
beautiful  tree  is  also  largely  made  into  tobacco  boxes. 

Ficus Sycomorus,  sycamore,  the  tree  to  which  the  name  is  prop- 
erly applied,  is  a  native  of  Egypt  and  Syria.  It  is  of  medium 
size,  very  bushy  and  is  closely  allied  to  the  fig  tree.  Its  fruit 
is  much  eaten, and  at  one  time  its  wood  was  used  for  the  coffins 
of  mummies. 


Platdniis  occidentalis. 


RIVER  BIRCH.     RED  BIRCH.     {Plate  XIV.) 


FAMILY 
Birch. 


SHAPE 
Slender.,  drooping. 


Bitula  nigra. 

HEIGHT  RANGE 

2o-6o/eei.         Mass.  southward  and 
7uestward  to  Minn. 


TIME  OF  BLOOM 
April.,  May. 


Bark:  reddish  brown;  dotted  and  peeling,  not  as  the  white  birches  but 
becoming  loose  and  lianging  in  thin  light  brown  sheets.  Leaves :  simple;  alter- 
nate ;    often    two  together;    with    short    and    pnbescent    petioles;    ovate,    fre- 


Staminate 
/lowering  branch 


Scale  of  cone. 

PLATE  XIV.     RIVER  BIRCH.     Betula  nigra. 
(49) 


50 


TREES  GROWING  NEAR  W  ATER. 


quently  pointed  at  both  ends ;  unequally  and  rather  doubly  serrate  with 
entire  base  ;  green  above,  whitish  and  pubescent  underneath.  Flowers:  grow- 
ing in  long,  downy  catkins.  Fruit :  very  small;  broadly-winged  ;  pubescent  at 
the  base. 

Not  until  it  reaches  the  lower  part  of  New  York  is  this  birch 
very  commonly  seen,  and  from  there  it  travels  southward  as 
though  in  search  of  a  still  warmer  climate.  None  other  of  the 
birches  is  found  in  the  south,  and  therefore  it  seems  strange 
that  this  one  should  reach  its  best  development  south  of  Balti- 
more. The  tree  is  very  graceful,  and  when  seen  along  the 
banks  of  rivers  and  lakes  its  drooping  branches  appear  as 
though  they  were  longing  to  stretch  down  and  drink  of  the  cool 
water.  They  sometimes  hang  nearly  to  the  ground.  In  the 
autumn  its  foliage  turns  a  bright  yellow.  This  is  the  birch 
from  the  twigs  of  which  are  made  brooms. 


SPECKLED  ALDER.  HOARY  ALDER. 

Alnus  incdna. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Birch.       Bushy^  spreading.       %-20/eet.       Pennsylvania  northward.  Afril. 

Bark  :  green  ;  shiny.  Twigs :  glabrous.  Leaves  :  simple  ;  alternate  ;  with 
short  petioles ;  broadly  ovate,  pointed  at  the  apex  and  squared  or  rounded 
at  the  base;  irregularly  and  finely  serrate  or  sometimes  coarsely  toothed; 
the  veins  brownish  and  prominent  on  the  under  side  ;  pale  dull  green  above, 
whitish  and  very  downy  below  ;  with  age  becoming  smoother.  Flowers :  reddish 
brown  ;  growing  in  catkins  from  naked  buds  and  appearing  some  time  before 
the  leaves.  Staminate  catkins  about  three  inches  long ;  pistillate  ones  thick 
and  shorter.      Nut:  orbicular. 

How  eager  the  alders  are  to  greet  the  spring.  It  seems  as 
though  they  could  hardly  wait  for  the  winter  to  be  gone. 
When  there  is  not  a  flower  astir  and  the  air  is  still  full  of  the 
scent  of  dried  leaves,  they  and  the  white  maples  begin  to  bloom. 
A  point  of  interest  about  their  pretty  catkins  is  that  while  they 
are  formed  one  summer  they  do  not  develop  until  the  next 
season.  Throughout  the  winter  they  have  remained  naked  on 
the  trees.  In  earliest  spring  therefore  they  are  quite  ready 
with  their  seeds  and  toss  them  about  in  the  spirit  of  unconcern 


Flowering  branch. 

PLATE  XV.     SMOOTH  ALDER.     Ahius  rugosa. 
(50 


52  TREES  GROWING  NEAR  WATER. 

and  lavishness  which  it  sometimes  pleases  Nature  to  display. 
They  are  then  picked  up  by  the  wind  or  carried  along  with  the 
stream  until  they  find  some  fitting  niche  to  rest  in,  and  to  grow. 
The  quaint  little  cones  are  often  seen  in  the  autumn  hanging 
on  the  branches  together  with  the  young  catkins.  Although 
usually  a  shrub,  the  speckled  alder  sometimes  becomes  a  small 
tree. 

A.  rugbsa,  smooth  alder,  [Plate  XV.)  is  also  a  shrub  or  small 
tree  which  ranges  in  height  from  five  to  twenty-five  or  forty  feet 
high.  That  its  obovate  leaves  are  green  and  rather  smooth 
on  both  sides  will  serve  as  a  means  to  distinguish  it  from  Alnus 
incana.  Its  young  twigs  are  also  slightly  pubescent.  Its  fa- 
vorite home  is  along  the  borders  of  streams  where  it  forms 
close  thickets.     It  is  found  also  on  moist  hillsides. 

AHERICAN  HORNBEAH.     WATER  BEECH.     BLUE 

BEECH.     IRONWOOD.     {Plate  XVI.) 

Carpmiis  CaroHntana. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Birch.  Head  open:  10-40 yivi',  New  Brunswick  to  Aprils  May. 

branches  spreading,     higher  southward.     Minnesota^  south-    Fruit:   Aug.,  Sept. 

ward  to  Florida 
and  Texas. 

Tricnk  ?Ln6.  branches :  ridged.  Bark:  smooth;  greyish  black,  and  irregularly 
and  vertically  lined  with  stripes  of  dull  grey.  Branchlets  :  slender  ;  when 
young,  brownish  jjurple,  terminating  in  green-bronze  ;  those  that  are  older,  with 
an  ashy  hue.  Leaves:  simple;  alternate;  with  short,  slender  petioles; 
ovate-lanceolate,  or  oblong,  with  pointed  apex  and  rounded  or  slightly  cordate 
base;  sharply  and  unevenly  serrate  ;  ribs  straight ;  pubescent;  especially  so  in 
their  angles;  above  smooth.  Fruit :  growing  in  a  green,  elongated,  drooping 
cluster.  The  small  nuts  growing  singly  at  the  base  of  two  opposite,  halberd- 
shaped,  three-lobed  bracts. 

This  enchanting  little  tree  or  shrub  is  sometimes  found  grow- 
ing in  a  one-sided  fashion  which  allows  its  branches  to  droop 
over  a  stream.  As  they  do  so  the  flower  or  fruit  clusters  hang 
at  right  angles  to  the  boughs  ;  so  they  are  thrown  into  prom- 
inence and  give  a  light  effect  to  the  foliage.  The  bracts  of  the 
clusters  are  much  more  strongly  tinted  with  yellow  than  are  the 
dark  green  leaves.     A  young  spray  of  the  tree  is   very  beauti- 


^ 


Nuts  and  bracts. 

PLATE  XVi.     AMERICAN  HORNBEAM.      Carpiniis  Caroliniana. 
(53) 


54  TREES  GROWING  NEAR  \VATER. 

ful,  and  we  may  fancy  it  would  make  a  bewitching  decoration 
for  the  white,  fleecy  gown  of  some  woodland  fairy. 

The  tree  is  slow  of  growth,  and  as  the  name  ironwood  implies, 
its  wood  is  very  strong  and  compact.  It  is  well  adapted  to  the 
making  of  farming  implements,  such  as  the  teeth  in  rakes  and 
other  similar  articles  where  durability  is  required. 

BLACK  WILLOW.     {Plate  XVII.) 
Sdlix  nigra. 


FAMILY 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE 

TfME  OF  BLOOM 

Willow. 

Head  o/>eft,  irregular; 

branches^  stout, 

upright. 

15-35 /<?'''• 

New  Brunswick  south- 
ward attd  westward  to 
California. 

April,  May. 

Bark:  Blackish  or  light  brown  ;  rough;  flaky.  ^;-rt«i;/^^j;  yellowish  brown; 
slender;  brittle  at  the  base.  Stipules:  inclined  to  vary.  Leaves:  simple; 
alternate  ;  about  two  inches  long,  with  short  petioles  ;  narrowly  lanceolate, 
pointed  at  both  ends  or  wedge-shaped  at  the  base  ;  finely  and  sharply  serrate 
or  entire  ;  pubescent,  and  later  becoming  smooth  excepting  along  the  midrib  ; 
the  under  side  paler  than  the  light  green  upper  surface.  Flowers  :  growing  in 
catkins  and  terminal  at  the  end  of  the  season's  branches.  Staminate  ones  with 
from  three  to  five  stamens.     Pistillate  ones  scaly. 

A  particular  charm  and  freshness  seems  to  cluster  around  the 
willows  ;  and  although  about  one  hundred  and  sixty  species  of 
them  are  recognised  by  botanists,  there  runs  so  strong  a 
family  resemblance  through  them  all  that  it  would  be  difficult 
to  confuse  any  one  of  them  with  another  genus.  By  their  gen- 
eral aspect  and  leaves  many  of  the  species  can  be  known. 
The  study  of  the  differences  in  their  flowers  is  one  that  requires 
minute  observation  and  carefulness.  Although  each  one  of  the 
willows  has  its  own  habitat,  the  greater  number  of  them  are 
fond  of  water  and  seek  the  river's  edge.  Here  they  have  their 
own  work  to  do  in  holding  the  soil  together  and  often  forming 
strong  breastworks  against  the  wind.  They  abundantly  scatter 
their  seeds,  and  detached  twigs  and  branches  strike  root  with 
great  facility.  In  low  places  and  the  adjoining  meadows  their 
trail  can  often  be  followed  by  numerous  ones  that  have  sprung 
up  and  whose  ancestors  live  on  the  river's  bank.  Salix  nigra, 
however,  is  seldom  found  growing  away  from  water.     Its  wood 


Ripe  atid  unripe  fist  ilia  te  powers.  Sia  mens. 

PLATE  XVII.     BLACK  WILLOW.     Salix  mgra. 
(55) 


Pistil. 


TREES  GROWING  NEAR  WATER.  57 

The  accompanying  illustration  shows  the  beauty  of  the  pistillate 
catkins  at  maturity.  The  stalks  of  their  capsules  have  length- 
ened, and  they  are  bursting  that  the  cotton-tufted  seeds  may 
escape. 

SHINING  WILLOW.     AMERICAN  BAY  WILLOW. 
GLOSSY  BROAD=LEAVED  WILLOW.     {Plate  XIX) 

Salix  Uccida. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Willo'iV.      Regular,  bushy;       I'l-io/eet,       Nciv  E>igla7id  to  N.  J .  and  April,  May . 

branches,  erect.  Kentucky  and  tvestward. 

Bark  :  dark  brown  ;  smootli,  or  slightly  scaly.  Braiichlets  :  yellowish  or 
green;  smooth  ;  polished.  Leaf-buds  t  yellowish  ;  ovate  ;  smooth.  Stipules: 
mostly  persistent;  small;  oblong  or  cordate;  falling  late  in  the  season. 
Leaves:  simple  ;  alternate;  with  short,  stout  petioles,  at  most,  half  an  inch 
long;  elliptical  or  lanceolate,  with  sharp-pointed  apex  and  narrowed  or  slightly 
rounded  base ;  finely  and  sharply  serrate  ;  dark  green  above,  lighter  below  ; 
smooth;  shiny  on  both  sides;  the  midrib  whitish  and  distinct.  Catkins  : 
short,  with  leafy  bracts  and  terminating  a  sparingly  leafy  branch.  Slatitinate 
ones  :  fluffy,  with  five  or  more  stamens  in  each  flower.  Pistillate  ones  :  long  ; 
dense. 

We  have  no  more  beautiful  willow  shrub  than  Salix  lucida. 
It  is  a  native  species.  In  the  swamps  or  along  the  borders  of 
streams  it  appears  to  attract  and  hold  the  sunshine  which  makes 
a  gay  shimmering  upon  its  glossy  leaves. 

About  the  catkins  of  the  willows, — they  are  borne  on  different 
plants  ;  and  in  the  springtime  we  see  many  sorts  of  insects 
darting  in  and  out  among  them.  They  are  busy  seeking  honey 
and  also  performing  the  service  of  cross-fertilization.  That  so 
many  flowers  grow  in  one  inflorescence  is  a  fact  which  must 
always  appeal  to  the  sagacious  insect.  From  twenty-five  to 
one  hundred  pods  have  been  counted  in  a  willow  catkin.  He 
can  therefore  suck  the  honey  and  carry  off  the  pollen  with 
much  greater  rapidity  than  he  can  when  flowers  are  borne 
singly.  To  save  time,  it  must  be  remembered,  is  a  most  impor- 
tant matter,  for  the  more  flowers  that  can  be  fertilized  the 
better  it  is  for  the  tree.  When  the  pollen  is  ripe  it  should  then 
be  carried  to  another  flower,  otherwise  it  is  liable  to  be  injured 


Staminatt  branch. 


Pistil.     Stamens. 


PLATE  XIX.     SHINING  WILLOW.     Salix  hicida. 
(58) 


TREES  GROWING  NEAR  WATER.  59 

by  rains  or  in  many  other  ways.  The  fertile  catkins  can  be 
easily  distinguished.  They  are  generally  the  short,  green  ones 
that  develop  soon  after  the  sterile  ones  have  been  stripped  of 
their  golden  pollen. 

The  seeds  of  the  willowsare  very  small.  Amid  the  tufts  of 
cotton-like  hairs  vi^hich  surround  them  at  the  base  it  is  almost 
with  difficulty  that  they  are  detected.  When  the  pods  open 
their  beaks  to  release  them,  the  slightest  breeze  is  able  to  carry 
them  aloft,  and  the  air  is  often  apparently  filled  with  their  lint. 
Of  the  millions  that  are  tossed  about  very  few  germinate  and 
become  shrubs  of  trees.  Nature  is  far  seeing  and,  knowing  the 
many  imminent  perils  of  their  existence,  strews  with  a  lavish 
hand. 

BEBB'S  WILLOW.     LONG-BEAKED  WILLOW.  OCHRE- 
FLOWERED  WILLOW.     {Plate  XX.) 
Salix  Bebbtana. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Willow.     Bushy;  bratuhes,   4-18  or  2s/eet.     Hudson  Bay  to  Ne-M  Jersey,      April,  May. 
erect.  7tort/i2varci  and  westward. 

Bark:  dark  green  or  reddish.  Branches:  yellowish.  Twigs:  reddish 
brown  ;  pubescent  when  young.  Stipules:  semi-cordate.  Leaves:  simjile  ; 
alternate;  elliptical  or  oblong-lanceolate,  tapering  into  a  point  or  blunt  at 
the  apex  and  rounded  or  wedge-shaped  at  the  base.  Edge :  variable  ;  remotely 
toothed  ;  wavy  ;  serrate  or  entire.  Dull  olive-green  and  smooth  above,  pale 
bluish  green  and  covered  with  silky  hairs  underneath,  becoming  glabrous  ;  thin. 
FUnoers  :  growing  in  sessile  catkins  and  appearing  with  the  leaves.  Statninate 
catkins:  long;  obovate  ;  pale  yellow  at  maturity.  Pistillate  catkins:  rather 
short  and  with  flowers  growing  loosely  in  them. 

In  earliest  spring,  almost  as  soon  as  the  sap  has  begun  to 
flow  under  the  bark  of  this  willow,  its  catkins  hasten  to 
develop  and  glisten  in  contrast  to  the  bareness  of  the  earth. 
The  leaves  do  not  fully  unfold  until  some  time  later.  Although 
the  flowers  in  these  strange  little  catkins  have  no  beautifully- 
coloured  envelopes,  the  rich  yellow  anthers  of  the  staminate 
blossoms  can  hardly  fail  to  attract  the  attention.  Thousands 
of  bees  are  seen  buzzing  about  them.  This  species  is  one  that 
is  a  native  of  America,  and  it  occurs  either  as  a  shrub   or  as  a 


Staniinati  branch. 


Stamens.       Pistil. 


PLATE  XX.     BEBB'S  WILLOW.     Salix  Bebbiana. 
(60) 


PLATE  XXI.     SILKY  WILLOW.     Salix  sericea. 
(6i) 


62  TREES  GROWING  NEAR  WATER. 

small  tree.  It  establishes  itself  along  the  borders  of  woods  and 
often  in  dry  soil  as  well  as  remains  faithfully  by  the  side  of 
streams. 

SILKY  WILLOW.     {Plate  XXI) 

Salix  sericea. 


FAMILY 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE 

TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Willow. 

Bushy,  irregular. 

5-12  yVf/. 

Maine  sout/tiuard  to 
Virginia. 

May. 

Tivigs  :  reddish  purple  ;  slender.  Stipules :  narrow  ;  deciduous.  Leaves : 
simple ;  alternate,  with  petioles  three  to  four  inches  long  ;  lanceolate,  with 
taper-pointed  apex  and  pointed  or  rounded  base  ;  serrate ;  extremely  soft  and 
silky  when  young.  As  the  leaves  dry  they  turn  dark  brown  or  black.  Flow- 
ers:  growing  in  long  sessile  catkins  with  leafy  bracts  at  their  bases. 

Surely  there  is  an  inspiration  to  be  found  in  the  willow 
shrubs  as  they  unfold  the  earliest  signs  of  spring.  About  them 
there  is  a  golden  halo  as  soon  as  the  sap  begins  to  flow.  The 
little  buds  expand  so  radiantly,  and  the  shy  catkins  peep  out 
and  grow  longer  with  every  touch  of  warm,  sunny  air.  There 
is  something  so  fresh  and  lively  about  them.  They  are  eager 
to  cast  off  every  sign  of  deadness.  Along  the  streams  and  by 
the  borders  of  swamps  the  silky  willow  seems  to  cling  with  a 
tender  affection.     The  shrub  is  a  native  of  America. 


WEEPING  WILLOW.     RING  WILLOW.     {Plate  XX TI.) 

Salix  Babyldnica. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

IVillow.  Branches,  pendulous.         -^o-bo/eef.  In  cultivation.  April,  May. 

Bark :  grey;  rough.  Twigs  :  greenish;  long;  drooping  ;  supple;  bitter  to  the 
taste.  Leaves:  simple;  alternate;  linear-lanceolate;  pointed  at  both  ends; 
sharply  serrate  all  around  ;  when  young  slightly  pubescent  on  the  under  side. 
Flowers :  dioecious;  growing  in  long,  loose  catkins  with  entire  scales  and  ter- 
minal at  the  end  of  short,  leafy  and  lateral  branches. 

When  the  spring  winds  skimmer  gaily 

Along  the  mirthful  stream, 
Then  the  stately,  reverend  willow 

Wears  a  gown  of  tender  green. 


PLATE  XXII.     WEEPING  WILLOW.     Salix  Balylonica. 
(63) 


64 


TREES  GROWING  NEAR  WATER. 


And  throughout  the  happy  summer 

It  breathes  as  oft  before — 
For  its  heart  is  grave  and  solemn — 

The  sweetest  tales  of  yore. 

'Till  in  tune  with  winter's  sorrow 

It  moans  a  plaintive  cry, 
And  its  boughs  are  bent  with  weeping 

That  calms  the  passer-by. 

There  is,  perhaps,  no  other  tree  about  which  more  sentiment 
clusters  than  the  weeping  willow.  It 
is  not  like  a  flower  that  remains  on  the 
earth  only  long  enough  to  accomplish  its 
purpose  of  reproduction  ;  it  lives  to  cast 
its  shade  upon  many  generations.  When 
it  has  attained  a  great  age  and  grown  to  a 
large  size  there  is  a  gravity  about  it 
which  is  most  impressive.  The  idea  of 
its  weeping  and  its  specific  name  have, 
it  is  said,  been  suggested  by  the  lamen- 
tation of  the  Hebrews  in  Psalm  cxxxvii, 
although  Populus  Euphratica  is  also  be- 
lieved to  be  the  Garab-tree  of  the  Arabs, 
and  the  weeping  willow  of  the  Psalmist, 

"  By  the  rivers  of  Babylon,  there  we  sat  down,  yea,  we  wept,  when  we  remem- 
bered Zion. 

We  hanged  our  harps  upon  the  willows  in  the  midst  thereof." 

Thoreau,  however,  who  is  always  cheerful,  says  of  the  tree  : 
"  It  may  droop — it  is  so  lithe  and  supple — but  it  never  weeps. 
It  droops  not  to  represent  David's  tears,  but  rather  to  snatch 
the  crown  from  Alexander's  head." 

The  story  of  its  introduction  into  Europe  and  America  from 
the  Orient  is  an  interesting  one.  Shortly  after  Alexander  Pope 
had  built  his  villa  at  Twickenham  on  the  Thames,  he  received 
from  a  friend  in  Smyrna  a  drum  of  figs.  Within  it  there  also 
was  a  small  twig  which  excited  the  poet's  curiosity.     He  stuck 


Siilix  BabyUnica. 


TREES  GROWING  NEAR  WATER.  65 

it  in  the  ground  by  the  river's  bank.  It  rooted,  and  soon  grew 
to  be  the  delight  of  Pope  and  his  friends.  Were  it  still  stand- 
ing it  would  be  regarded  with  peculiar  interest  ;  for  it  was  the 
ancestor  of  all  those  that  have  since  lived  in  Europe  and  Amer- 
ica. In  1775  a  young  British  officer  who  went  to  Boston  took 
with  him,  carefully  wrapped  in  oiled  silk,  a  twig  from  Pope's 
willow.  His  expectations  of  settling  peacefully  in  the  new 
world  were  not  as  speedily  fulfilled  as  he  had  anticipated,  and 
so  he  presented  the  twig  to  Mr.  Custis,  the  step-son  of  General 
Washington,  who  planted  it  near  his  home  at  Abingdon,  Vir- 
ginia. There  it  took  kindly  to  the  soil  and  grew  vigourously. 
It  was  a  child  of  Pope's  willow,  and  the  first  one  to  strike 
root  in  America.  Later,  in  1790,  General  Gates  took  a  twig 
from  the  tree  and  planted  it  at  the  entrance  to  the  farm  he 
had  bought  on  Manhattan  Island.  It  also  grew  to  a  consider- 
able size,  and  for  many  years  was  familiarly  known  as  Gates' 
weeping  willow.  The  entrance  to  the  farm  where  it  stood  is 
now  Third  avenue  and  Twenty-second  street. 

It  is  believed  that  the  staminate  trees  have  never  been  intro- 
duced into  this  country,  and  the  willow  is,  therefore,  not  able 
to  reproduce  itself  by  seed.  The  twigs  of  S.  Babylonica  have 
been  used  as  divining  rods,  and  Herodotus  mentions  that  the 
Scythians  found  them  excellent  for  this  purpose. 

■5".  Babylonica  annularis,  hoop  willow,  is  known  by  the  pecu- 
liarity of  its  leaves.     They  curve  and  recurve  into  rings. 

WHITE  WILLOW.     HUNTINGTON  WILLOW. 

Salix  alba. 


FAMILY 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE 

TIME  OF  BLOOM 

WiUoiu. 

Thick  set,  branches, 
ascending. 

50-90  _/>c/. 

Introduced,  New  York 
and  Penn. 

April,  May. 

Bark:  grey;  rough.  T%uigs:  olive-green,  not  yellowish;  brittle.  Stipules: 
lanceolate  ;  deciduous.  Leaves  :  simple  ;  alternate  ;  with  very  short  peti- 
oles ;  lanceolate  to  linear,  tapering  at  both  ends  ;  sharply  serrate  ;  pubescent  on 
both  surfaces,  the  lower  one  retaining  its  white,  velvety  hairs  even  when  ma- 
ture.    Catkins :  growing  at  the  end  of  the  season's  short,  leafy  shoots. 

Although  generally  familiar  and  common  throughout  a  con- 


66  TREES  GROWING  NEAR  WATER. 

siderable  part  of  the  country,  S.  alba  is  one  of  the  introduced 
willows  that  have  escaped  from  cultivation.  Its  growth  is  free 
and  rapid  ;  as  though  it  were  quite  independent  of  all  care 
and  attention.  Of  the  species  there  are  several  varieties,  and  it 
is  not  always  a  simple  matter  to  tell  them  from  each  other. 
The  fact  that  its  own  twigs  are  not  yellowish  will  serve  in  one 
instance  to  distinguish  it  from  S.  alba  viteltina,  yellow  willow,  or 
golden  osier. 

6".  dlba  carhlea  has  olive  coloured  twigs,  and  its  leaves  are  of 
a  bluish  green  hue. 

S.  dlba  arge'ntea,  as  the  name  implies,  has  foliage  that  is  very 
silvery.  This  is  a  particularly  beautiful  feature  of  the  tree,  and 
when  a  strong  breeze  is  seen  playing  through  it  the  under  sur- 
faces of  the  leaves  appear  like  flashes  of  light  through  the 
green. 


YELLOW  WILLOW.     GOLDEN  OSIER.     {Plate  XXIII) 
Salix  dlba  vitelllna. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  .      TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Willow.       Erects  thick;  spreading     ^o-^o/eet.       Introduced,  general  May. 

broadly.  in  U.  S. 

_  Tivigs:  yellowish  green  or  reddish;  smooth;  brittle  at  the  base.  Leaves: 
simple  ;  alternate  ;  lanceolate  ;  pointed  at  both  ends  ;  when  very  young  often 
blunt  or  rounded  at  the  apex;  sharply  serrate;  pubescent,  the  silky  white  hairs 
appearing  on  the  upper  surface  of  the  leaf  as  well  as  underneath.  This  is  es- 
pecially so  when  young.     Catkins :  \o\\g\  slender. 

Early  in  the  spring  especially,  a  golden  glow  from  this  wil- 
low appears  to  lighten  the  whole  of  its  surrounding  atmos- 
phere. It  is  a  tree  very  common  in  America,  perhaps  the  most 
so  of  any  one  of  the  family.  Even  about  old  houses  it  is  found, 
and  it  grows  abundantly  in  low  places. 

For  its  commercial  value  the  golden  osier  has  been  exten- 
sively planted  in  France,  where  it  principally  supplies  the  mar- 
ket with  hoops,  and  it  is  also  exported  by  the  French  to  Great 
Britain  and  other  countries. 


'  ■'      brunJt. 


PLATE  XXIll.     YELLOW  WILLOW.     Salix  albavitellina. 
(67) 


68  TREES  GROWING  NEAR  WATER. 

BRITTLE  WILLOW.     CRACK  WILLOW.     i^Plate  XXIV.) 
Sa  lix  frdgilis. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Willow.        Head.,  bushy,         to-io/net.  Introduced,  Muss,  to  N.  J .  April,  May. 

irregular.  and  Penn. 

Bark:  grey;  slightly  rougli.  Branches:  greenish,  tinged  with  red;  smooth; 
very  brittle  at  the  base,  the  most  so  of  any  species  with  this  characteristic. 
Leaves  :  simple  ;  alternate,  with  smooth  petioles  with  two  wart-like  extuber- 
ances  near  the  base  of  the  leaf;  lanceolate;  taper-pointed  at  both  ends; 
unevenly  and  sliarply  serrate,  the  teeth  somewhat  incurved  ;  smooth  and  dark 
green  above,  whitish  below  and  only  slightly  downy,  even  when  young. 
Flowers  :  growing  in  catkins  at  the  ends  of  the  season's  leafy  shoots.  Stami- 
iiate  catkitis  :  shorter  than  the  long,  loose  pistillate  ones. 

Among  the  willows,  Salix  fragilis  has  its  distinct  place,  and 
it  is  regarded  as  a  valuable  tree.  From  its  withes  much  of 
the  basket  work  with  which  we  are  so  familiar  is  made,  and 
the  industry  in  Europe,  where  it  is  generally  distributed,  is  a 
large  one.  The  timber  that  it  yields  is  fine  and  of  a  rich 
salmon  colour.  From  the  old  plants  its  twigs  break  away  and 
grow  into  new  ones  with  astonishing  facility.  It  is  probably  in 
this  way  that  it  has  escaped  so  widely  from  cultivation.  It 
has  also  many  varieties  and  hybridizes  well  with  other  species. 

An  amusing  story  is  told  of  a  country  school  mistress  who 
prided  herself  on  her  knowledge  of  the  family  of  willows.  One 
day  she  told  a  young  lad  to  fetch  her  a  twig  with  which  she 
might  flog  him.  He  sought  one  of  a  near-by  willow  and, 
being  v/ise  in  his  generation,  made  slight  circular  incisions  all 
along  the  twig  with  his  ever-ready  pen-knife.  When  he 
returned,  he  calmly  held  out  his  hand  to  the  mistress.  She 
raised  the  twig  ;  but  before  the  first  blow  was  fairly  adminis- 
tered, it  had  flown  in  innumerable  pieces  all  over  the  room. 
"  It  is  the  brittle  willow,"  said  she  with  an  air  of  wisdom  to 
the  rest  of  the  pupils. 


Sianiinate  branch. 


Pistillate  branch  at 
Maturity. 


PLATE  XXIV.     BRITTLE  WILLOW.      Salix fragtlis. 


70 


TREES  GROWING  NEAR  WATER. 


DOWNY  POPLAR.     RIVER  COTTONWOOD.     SWAMP 

COTTONWOOD.     {Plate  XXV) 

Pdpuhis  heterophylla. 

FAMILY                       SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE                TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Willow.          Head  narrow,  round-  i,c-%o  feet.  Southern  Conn.             April,  May. 

topped:    branches,  ir-  iouthward  and 

regular.  westward. 

Bark:  reddish  brown ;  rough;  and  broken  into  long,  narrow  plates. 
Leaves:  simple;  alternate,  with  long,  round  petioles;  rounded  ovate,  with 
blunt  apex  and  cordate  base,  the  lobes  of  the  base  often  overlapping  the  leaf- 
stem  ;  serrate,  with  obtuse  and  incurved  teeth.  When  young  the  leaves  are 
covered  with  a  white  wool  which  falls  as  the  leaves  mature  ;  the  veins  and 
]jetioles,  however,  always  retain  traces  of  the  down.  Sta7ninate  catkins :  very 
large;  dense;  drooping.     Pistillate  ones :  raceme-like;  loose. 

It  almost  seems  as  though  a  little  innate  stubbornness  were 
displayed  by  this  tree  in  the  persistent 
bluntness  of  its  leaf.  It  also  clings 
with  much  tenacity  to  the  soft  down 
of  its  early  youth.  That  it  has  these 
decisive  characteristics,  however,  af- 
fords us  a  good  means  of  its  identi- 
fication. When  its  tiny  seed  is  caught 
on  its  upward  sail  in  the  air,  and  exam- 
ined, it  is  found  to  be  snugly  placed 
within  a  mass  of  silvery,  white  hairs 
which  at  their  bases  are  tinged  with 
orange-yellow.  This  touch  of  colour 
and  the  beauty  of  the  design  for  its 
Pdpuius  heterophylla.  purposc    in    a   thing  so   small   is  only 

another  instance  of  the  fineness  of  Nature's  conceptions. 
In  the  northern  Atlantic  states  the  tree  is  local  and  rare.  Its 
wood  is   closely-grained,  but  soft  and  not  durable. 


FAMILY 

Willow, 


BALSAM  POPLAR.     TACAMAHAC. 

Popiihis  bahamifera. 
SHAPE 


Erect;   narrow,  open 
head. 


HEIGHT 

60-80- loo  yvv/'. 


RANGE 
Northward  and 
westiuard. 


TIME  OF  BLOOM 

April. 

Fru it:   May,  June. 


Bark:  grey,  tinged  with  red  ;  ridged;  bitter.     Branches:  smooth,  with  wart- 
like excrescences.     Leaf-buds  ;   large ;    covered  with  a  yellow,  resinous  gum 


Staminate  and 
jiistillate  catkin. 


Bursting  catkin. 


PLATE  XXV.     DOWNY  POPLAR.     Populus  heterophylla. 
(71) 


72  TREES  GROWING  NEAR  WATER. 

which  is  scented  like  balsam.  Leaves:  simple;  alternate;  ovate-lanceolate; 
pointed  at  the  apex  and  rounded  or  sub-cordate  at  the  base  ;  three-ribbed  ; 
finely  serrate;  bright  green  and  shiny  above,  rather  whitish  below;  glabrous. 
Flowers:  dioecious;  growing  in  drooping  catkins,  and  appearing  some  time 
before  the  leaves.  Stamens :  numerous.  Scales  of  the  pistillate  flowers 
recurved  at  the  apex. 

It  must  be  a  dull  heart  that  is  not  stirred  by  the  sight  of  this 
noble  tree.  Against  the  intense  blue  of  a  summer's  sky  its 
great  size  and  stately  trunk  make  it  indeed  a  noteworthy 
object.  It  grows  along  the  borders  of  streams  and  lakes  and 
inhabits  bottom  lands  that  have  been  inundated.  Occasionally 
it  is  found  in  dry  soil.  The  fishermen  of  the  Great  Lakes  know 
the  tree  well.  They  seek  the  outer  bark  from  the  base  of 
old  trees  and  use  it  as  they  would  cork  to  float  their  nets. 
The  wood  of  the  tree  is  brown  and  soft.  It  is  made  into  pails, 
tobacco  boxes  and  also  paper  pulp. 


BALH  OF  QILEAD.     HEART=LEAVED  BALSAM 

POPLAR.     {Plate  XXVI) 

Pdpiiliis  cdndicans. 


FAMILY 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE 

TIME  OF  BLOOM 

IVillow. 

Head,  broaii,  open: 
branches,  spreading. 

40-50 /ftV. 

In  cultivation. 

Aprii. 

Bark:  greenish  grey,  the  branches  often  darkly  spotted.  Leaf-buds:  large; 
fragrant.  Leaves:  simple;  alternate,  with  petioles  that  are  almost  round  and 
more  or  less  hairy;  broadly-ovate,  or  cordate,  pointed  at  the  apex  and  heart- 
shaped  at  the  base;  coarsely  serrate;  netted-veined;  the  margins  outlined  by 
fine  white  hairs.  Bright  green  above  ;  whitish  below;  pubescent  along  the 
ribs  and  veins.  Flo'uers :  growing  in  catkins,  similar  to  those  of  the  preced- 
ing species. 

This  beautiful  tree  with  its  gracefully-shaped  and  abundant 
foliage  is  frequently  planted  about  dwellings  and  along  drives. 
It  has  in  fact  quite  abandoned  the  forests  and  no  longer  luxuri- 
ates in  a  state  of  wildness.  Professor  L.  H.  Bailey,  however, 
tells  us  that  it  is  indigenous  in  Michigan  and  that  there,  it  is 
said,  groves  of  it  existed  when  the  country  was  first  settled. 
Afterwards  they  were  cut  down  to  supply  lumber.  It  is  dis- 
tinguished from  the  balsam  poplar,  of  which  it  has  been  re- 


PLATE  XXVI.     BALM   OF  GILEAD.     Popultis  candnwis 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,    BY  FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


Staniinate  branch.  Pistillate  branch. 


PLATE  XXVII.     COTTONWOOD.     Popuhis  deltoides. 
(73) 


74 


TREES  GROWING  NEAR  WATER. 


garded  as  a  variety,  by  the  width   of  its  leaves  with    their   cor- 
date bases  and  ciliate  margins  and  by  their  pubescence. 

The  seeds  have  wonderfully  fine  hairs  which  envelop  the 
fruit  with  thick  masses  of  soft,  snow-white  cotton.  The  illus- 
tration shows  the  pistillate  catkins  at  maturity.  Then  the  seeds 
become  detached  from  their  capsules  and  are  wafted  by  the 
breezes  to  great  distances  from  the  trees. 

COTTONWOOD.     RIVER  POPLAR.     CAROLINA  POPLAR. 
NECKLACE  POPLAR.     {Plate  XXV J  I) 

Pdpiilus  deltoldes. 

FAMILY                   SHAPE                    HEIGHT                       RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

lyUlow.       Syjnmetrical^  open       So-i^oyeef.        Qttebec  ivestivard  a?id  April. 

head.                                            soiithivard  to  N.  J.^  Fla.  Fruit:  Jztne. 
and  Neiu  Mexico. 

Bark  :  granite-grey;  smooth  when  young  but  becoming  rough  and  furrowed 
with  age  and  breaking  off  in  short,  flaky  pieces.  Branchlets  :  greenish.  Lea/- 
buds :  glutinous,  with  a  substance  like  balsam.  Leaves:  simple;  alternate, 
with  stout  petioles  which  are  flattened  sidewise ;  broadly-ovate,  with  taper- 
pointed  apex  and  squared  or  slightly  cordate  base.  Irregularly  and  coarsely 
serrate,  with  incurved  teeth;  when  young,  sticky  and  fragrant  like  balsam; 
occasionally  coarsely  pubescent  underneath ;  the  margins  fringed  ;  at  maturity 
bright  green,  smooth  and  glossy  above,  paler  below;  ribs  whitish  on  both 
sides;  thick.  Flowers:  dicEcious;  growing  \\\  catkins,  and  appearing  before 
the  leaves;  the  fertile  ones  sometimes  a  foot  long;  their  scales  cut-fringed. 
Sterile  catkins :  growing  on  stout  stems;  dense.  Seeds:  covered  with  a  whit- 
ish or  rusty  coloured  substance. 

There  is  to-day  standing  in  Washington  Hollow,  Dutchess 
county,  New  York,  a  cotton-wood  tree  the  trunk  of  which 
measures  fifteen  feet,  two  and  a  half  inches  in  circumference. 
The  soft  grey  of  its  bark  and  its  lustrous  restless  foliage  form 
an  imposing  spectacle  against  the  sky.  By  those  that  live  near 
its  shade  its  slightest  movements  are  watched  with  interest. 
Owing  to  the  softness  of  its  wood  large  branches  are  apt  to 
break  away  from  the  tree  when  there  is  a  high  wind.  To  look 
out  in  the  night  when  a  storm  is  raging  and  see  that  all  is 
safe, — that  no  danger  is  impending  from  the  cotton-wood, — has 
become  a  custom.  During  the  first  part  of  June  it  is  also  a 
care  to  those  that  live  near  it.  It  is  then  that  its  tiny  seeds 
which  are  not  more  than  one  twelfth  of  an  inch  long  begin  to 


Flower in^  branch .  Single  flo^ver. 

PLATE  XXVIII.     SWAMP  WHITE  OAK.     Querciis platanoides. 

(75) 


76  TREES  GROWING  xNEAR  WATER. 

fly.  They  are  hidden  within  a  mass  of  soft,  delicate  cotton 
which  is  surrounded  by  tufts  of  long,  white  or  rusty  coloured 
hairs.  As  if  with  fleecy,  etherial  sails,  they  are  then  borne  aloft 
by  the  slightest  breeze.  So  abundantly  are  they  dispersed  that 
they  have  to  be  taken  up  in  quantities  from  a  near-by  straw- 
berry bed,  and  when  the  windows  on  the  tree's  side  of  the 
house  are  left  open  the  seeds  can  be  gathered  in  basketfuls 
from  under  the  furniture.  This  cotton-like  fibre  which  sur- 
rounds the  seeds  of  the  poplar  has  been  experimented  with 
for  the  manufacturing  of  cloth  ;  but  as  yet  the  enterprise  has 
not  proved  itself  financially  successful.  Its  wood  also  is  of 
little  value  commercially  and  warps  badly  in  drying.  This 
poplar  is  the  most  rapid-growing  tree  of  eastern  North  Amer- 
ica and  under  favourable  circumstances  reaches  a  height  of 
forty  feet  in  five  or  six  years. 

East  of  the  Rockies  the  tree  has  been  much  planted  ;  but  it 
is  not  regarded  as  being  long  lived  or  thriving  well  in  other 
than  a  moist  soil.  Its  natural  habitat  is  along  the  banks  of 
rivers  and  streams  and  by  lakes.  Not  one  of  the  least  remark- 
able features  of  the  large  tree  that  has  been  mentioned  is  the 
fact  that  it  grows  in  dry  soil. 

SWAMP  WHITE  OAK.     (Plate  XXVIII.) 

Qiiircus  platanoldes. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Beech.        Head,  narroiv,  round-  ■yy-'jo/eet.     Maine  to  Iowa,  south-  May,  June. 

topped:  lower  branches,  ^vard  to  Delaware  Fruit:    Sept.,  Oct. 

somewhat  declined.  and  Georgia. 

Bark  :  light  grey  and  divided  into  large,  flat,  flaky  scales.  Leaves  :  simple; 
alternate;  obovate,  with  wedge-shaped  and  entire  base  and  pointed  or  rounded 
at  the  apex  ;  sinuate-toothed,  the  waves  far  apart  and  so  large  as  to  resemble 
small  lobes ;  sinuses  rounded  and  those  of  the  middle  waves  extending  deeper 
into  the  leaves  than  the  others ;  dull,  dark  green  above  and  smooth;  silvery 
and  downy  underneath.  The  ribs  appear  rusty.  Acorns :  ovoid;  growing  usu- 
ally in  pairs  on  a  puduncle  sometimes  three  inches  long.  Citp:  round  ;  covered 
with  pubescent  scales,  the  upper  row  becoming  bristle-like  and  forming  a 
fringe  about  the  edge.  A^til:  chestnut-brown  ;  oval ;  about  one  inch  long  ; 
edible;  sweet. 

To  see  this  tree  in  all  the  glory  of  its  best  development  we 


Fruiting  branch. 


Flowering  branch. 


PLATE  XXIX.     WILLOW  OAK.     Qucrcus  Phellos. 
(77) 


78  TREES  GROWING  NEAR  WATER. 

should  go  to  the  region  of  the  Great  Lakes.  When  its  identity 
is  once  known  it  is  not  easily  forgotten,  or  confused  with  other 
trees.  The  manner  in  which  its  lower  bark  separates  into  thin 
scales  and  the  little  weird  branches  that  are  so  often  pendulous 
from  larger  limbs — and  sometimes  from  the  trunk — make  it  a 
marked  figure  on  even  a  winter's  landscape.  From  its  leaves 
it  is  known  as  belonging  to  the  group  of  chestnut  oaks,  as  in 
outline  they  somewhat  resemble  those  of  the  chestnut  tree. 

The  wood  of  the  swamp  white  oak  is  light  brown,  closely 
grained  and  strong.  Commercially  it  is  not  distinguished  from 
that  of  the  white  oak,  Q.  a/da,  and  of  the  burr  oak,  Q.  viacrocarpa. 
Pages  i88  and  132  respectively. 

WILLOW  OAK.     PEACH=LEAVED  OAK.     {Plate  XXIX.) 

Que'rcus  Phellos. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Beech.  Conical  head:        yy-^o/eet.     L.  I.  and N.  J .  southward  April.,  May. 

branches^  slender.  and  west-ward.  Fruit:  Sept.,  Oct. 

Bark :  reddish  brown;  almost  smooth,  although  having  close  scales.  Leaves: 
simple;  alternate;  with  short  grooved  petioles;  lanceolate  to  ovate-lanceolate, 
with  pointed  and  bristle-tipped  apex  and  pointed  base ;  entire  and  slightly  un- 
dulate edge.  When  young,  brilliant  light  green  and  soft  above,  dull  and  with  a 
whitish  down  underneath ;  becoming  thick  and  shiny  above  as  they  grow 
older.  Floitjers:  moncecious.  Acorns:  very  sinall;  almost  sessile.  Cup: 
saucer-shaped;  pubescent  inside.  Nut:  brown;  three-eighths  to  one-half  inch 
long;  globular.     Kernel:  bright  orange  ;  bitter. 

There  seems  to  be  nothing  about  the  foliage  of  this  attractive 
tree  to  suggest  to  us  the  family  to  which  it  belongs  ;  but  along 
with  the  autumn  comes  the  little  tell-tale,  the  acorn.  No  doubt 
there  is  lurking  within  it  a  strong  sense  of  grace  and  outline, 
or  perhaps  a  sort  of  hero-worship  for  the  willows  has  led  it  to 
imitate  their  leaf.  But  in  any  case  we  cannot  believe  that  it 
laments  having  stepped  out  of  the  beaten  track  of  its  relatives  ; 
as  its  aspect  is  most  gay  and  happy.  In  the  southern  towns  it 
is  much  planted  for  ornament  and  has  besides  its  beauty  the 
advantage  of  growing  rapidly.  Its  leather-like  leaves  remain 
fresh  long  after  those  of  most  other  trees  have  fallen.     They 


Fruiting  branch. 


Flowering  branch. 


PLATE  XXX.     LAUREL  OAK.     Qiiercus  laiirifolia. 
(79) 


8o  TREES  GROWING  NEAR  WATER. 

then  turn  a  pale  yellow.     In  moist  woods  and  on  sandy  uplands 
the  tree  occurs  as  well  as  by  the  borders  of  swamps. 

LAURELOAK.  SHINGLE  OAK.  WATER  OAK.  {Plate  XXX) 
Que  reus  laurifblia. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Beech.   Head^  dense^  round-topped:     -ioSo/eet,     Penn.to  Iowa  and  March^  April, 

brunches,  slender.  or  higher,     southward  to  Fla.  Fruit:    Oct. 

^a;-^;  nearly  black,  flatly  and  broadly  ridged.  Leaves:  simple;  alternate; 
with  grooved,  yellow  petioles;  long  oblong  with  pointed  and  bristle-tipped 
apex  and  pointed  base.  Edge  entire,  although  the  leaves  of  young  shoots  are 
sometimes  undulately-lobed.  Bright  green,  smooth,  stiff  and  glossy  above. 
Flowers:  slightly  downy  below,  ^c^rwj-:  small;  almost  sessile.  Ctip:  saucer- 
shaped,  with  closely  compressed  scales.  Niit:  globular  or  ovoid.  Kernel: 
bitter. 

Two  things  are  most  noticeable  about  this  tree  :  its  tall 
stately  trunk  and  its  dark,  lustrous  head  of  laurel-like  foliage. 
Within  its  centre  it  seems  as  though  the  breezes  must  be  held 
and  not  allowed  to  rush  madly  through  as  is  their  wont.  The 
tree  is  rather  generally  found  east  of  the  Alleghanies.  Like  that 
of  the  willow  oak  its  reddish-brown  wood  is  poor  and  of  little 
value.  One  of  its  common  names  connects  it  with  the  making 
of  shingles,  for  which  purpose  it  is  largely  used. 

COnnON  FRINGE  TREE.     OLD  MAN'S  BEARD. 

{Plate  XXXI.) 

Chiondnthus  Virgintca. 


■AMILY 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE 

TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Olive. 

Oblong.     Head,  narrow. 

%-^lfeet. 

N.J.  and  southern 
Penn.  southward. 

June. 
Fruit:  Sept. 

Bark:  brown,  or  ashy  grey  and  divided  into  thin  scales.  Leaves:  large; 
simple  ;  opposite;  petioled;  ovate  or  obovate,  with  pointed  or  rarely  rounded 
apex  and  pointed  or  narrowed  at  the  base.  Dark  green  and  smooth  above; 
pubescent  underneath  when  young;  thick.  Ftozvers:  sx\ovi-vih.\if,  faintly  fra- 
grant; growing  in  loose,  drooping  panicles.  Calyx:  small;  four-lobed;  tubular. 
Corolla:  with  four  slender  petals,  three  quarters  of  an  inch  long,  barely  united 
at  the  base.  Stamens:  two,  very  short.  Pistil:  one.  Fruit:  bluish  purple  ; 
oval;  glaucous  and  containing  one  seed. 

The  blossoms  of  the  fringe  tree  are  among  those  things  of 
nature  that  are  seen  by  all.     They  make  no  demand  upon  that 


PLATE  XXXI.     COMMON  FRINGE  TREE.     CJiioiianthiis  Virginica. 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,    BY  FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


Single  flower.  Flowering  branch.  Fruiting  branch. 

PLATE  XXXIl.     SWEET  VIBURNUM.      Viburnum  Letttago. 
(8 1) 


82 


TREES  GROWING  NEAR  WATER. 


more  gifted  and  subtle  observation 
which  watches  tor  the  earliest  signs 
of  spring  in  growth  that  is  apparently 
dead  and  is  conscious  of  the  beauty  of 
the  golden  dust  in  the  catkins  of  the 
hazel.  They  thrust  themselves  abun- 
dantly upon  the  sight,  and  the  wind 
stirs  their  long  petals  that  the  attention 
may  not  wander  from  them.  And 
about  them  there  is  a  grace  and  fleeci- 
ness  which  is  most  enchanting.  In 
cultivation  the  tree  is  frequently  seen,  and  it  would  be  quite 
without  objectionable  features  for  the  ornamentation  of  parks 
and  grounds  were  it  not  that  its  leaves  unfold  so  late  in  the 
season.  Before  they  do  so  the  majority  of  other  trees  are  al- 
ready fully  clothed  with  verdure.  They  remind  us  of  the 
leaves  of  the  magnolias  and  in  the  autumn  turn  to  a  uniform 
tint  of  bright  yellow. 

The  wood  of  the  fringe  tree  is  closely  grained  and  heavy. 
From  the  bark  tonic  properties  are  extracted  which  have  been 
used  in  the  treatment  of  fevers. 


Chiondnthus  I'irginica. 


SWEET  VIBURNUM.  SHEEP  BERRY.  NANNY  BERRY. 

{Plate  XXXII.) 
Viburnum  Lentago. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Honeysuckle.       Routtd-topped,        \%-->,o/eet.        Hudson  Bay  southward         May ^  June, 
bushy.  to  Ga.  and  westward.  Fruit:  Oct. 

Bark;  reddish  brown  and  irregularly  broken  into  small,  thin  plates. 
Branches:  light  green;  very  pubescent.  Wood:  hard;  unpleasantly  scented. 
Winter  buds:  glabrous.  Leaves:  simple;  opposite;  with  slender  margined 
petioles,  the  borders  of  which  are  wavy  and  upon  which  brownish  glands  are 
borne  ;  ovate,  with  pointed  apex  and  rounded  base,  quite  subject  to  variation  ; 
finely  and  sharply  serrate  ;  bright  green;  glossy;  glabrous.  Flo-tuers :  small  ; 
white;  perfect;  growing  in  broad  sessile  cymes.  Fruit:  red,  turning  later  to 
blue-black;  ovoid;  growing  in  clusters  on  red  petioles  ;  glaucous;  edible;  sweet. 

The  sweet  viburnum  is  a  small  tree.  Along  the  borders  of 
streams  and  by  swamps  it  rears  itself  boldly  or  seeks  seclusion 


I! mil  I  '/nil IK. 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,   8Y  FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  NEAR  WATER.  83 

in  the  deep  woods.  No  matter,  however,  how  lovely  the  tree, 
there  is  always  a  slight  disappointment  in  perceiving  that  it  has 
not  the  outer  row  of  showy  and  neutral  flowers  that  we  associ- 
ate with  F.  Opulus,  cranberry  tree,  and  V,  alnifolium^  hobble- 
bush. 

Both  of  these  are  fine  shrubs.  Of  the  former,  V.  Opulus 
{Plate  XXX/II),  the  bark  is  smooth  and  grey,  and  its  leaves 
have  from  three  to  five  lobes.  Its  fruit  is  juicy  and  acrid  and  is 
used  as  a  substitute  for  the  true  cranberries. 

V.  alnifolium  {Plate  XXXIV.)  also  bears  bright  scarlet  and 
beautiful  fruit,  but  it  is  not  edible.  Its  blossoms,  however,  are 
very  similar  to  those  of  the  cranberry  tree.  The  orbicular 
leaves  are  pointed  at  the  apex,  cordate  at  the  base  and  have 
upon  them  a  reddish  scurf. 

RED  MAPLE.     SWAMP  MAPLE.     SCARLET  MAPLE. 

SOFT  MAPLE.     {Plate  XXXV,   frontispiece.) 

Acer  riibrtan. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Maple       Round-topped;  branches,     30-50  <7r  loo      New  Brunswick  to         March,  April. 
upright.  feet.  Fla.,  westward  to     Fruit:  May,  June. 

Texas  and  Dakota. 

^rtr^ ;  dark  grey ;  rather  smooth  or  flaky  when  young,  becoming  rough  as 
it  grows  older.  Branches  zwd  twigs :  reddish,  marked  by  longitudinal  white 
lenticels.  Leaves:  simple;  opposite;  with  long,  round,  reddish  petioles; 
rounded,  with  from  three  to  five  lobes  variously  shaped  and  toothed,  the  lower 
pair  small  when  present  and  frequently  absent.  Apex  of  lobes,  pointed  and 
irregularly  serrate  ;  the  base  of  the  leaf  rounded  or  wedge  shaped.  Sinuses: 
rounded  and  extending  hardly  more  than  a  third  way  in  to  the  midrib.  Green 
above,  whitish  underneath ;  the  veins  pubescent  on  the  under  side.  Flowers: 
crimson  ;  showy  ;  growing  on  short  pedicels  in  drooping,  sessile,  umbel-like 
clusters  which  grow  from  lateral  buds,  and  appear  some  time  before  the  leaves. 
'I'he  staminate  and  pistillate  flowers  grow  in  separate  clusters  and  usually  on 
f'ifferent  trees.  Fruit:  bright  red  ;  growing  on  lengthened  pedicels  with  wings 
liardly  an  inch  long  and  slightly  incurved;  glabrous. 

Who  is  it  that  can  tell  when  the  spring  awakes, — when  the 
first  sign  of  life  is  disclosed  by  the  earth  ?  And  how  has  he 
who  perhaps  tells  us  found  it  out  ?  Has  he  followed  the  honey 
bee  from  his  lurking  place,  as  through  a  dreary  landscape  he 
seeks  the  swelling  blossoms  ;   or  has  he  been  led  by  the  rabbit 


84 


TREES  GROWING  NEAR  WATER. 


Acer  ritbrum. 


with  his  eager  desire  to  gnaw  the  red 
maples'  buds  ?  It  is  indeed  the  insects 
and  animals  that  know  best;  for  their 
search  is  not  that  of  the  dilettante. 
Their  desire  for  food  impels  them 
to  look  about  diligently,  and  when 
found  they  wish  to  carry  it  to  their 
young  also.  Often  before  the  snow 
is  off  the  ground  the  sap  of  the  red 
maple  begins  to  ascend;  and  in  earliest 
March,  while  the  odour  of  winter's 
pageant  is  still  in  the  air,  the  flower- 
buds  begin  to  expand.  Then  it  is  not 
long  before  they  unfold  their  exquisite 
blossoms  which  hang  in  the  bare  trees 
like  a  shower  of  crimson  light.  As 
we  wander  by  the  side  of  a  stream,  straining  our  eyes  per- 
haps for  the  first  sight  of  the  white  violet,  they  may  be  sway- 
ing over  our  heads.  Hardly  a  leaf  is  to  be  seen  on  the  trees 
thus  early  in  the  year;  but  the  soil  is  soft  and  oozy,  and  we 
scent  that  the  winter  has  passed. 

The  red  maple  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the  most  beautiful  trees 
of  the  American  forest.  As  in  the  spring,  the  tree  is  in  ad- 
vance of  others  in  the  autumn,  when  it  changes  its  hue  to 
varied  tints  of  scarlet  and  orange.  In  brilliancy  there  is  none 
other  to  compare  with  it.  During  the  winter  its  twigs  are  of  a 
deeper  shade  of  red  than  at  other  seasons  of  the  year. 

The  wood  of  the  red  maple  is  reddish  brown  and  hard. 
Furniture  is  made  from  it,  and  it  is  especially  desirable  when 
running  through  it  is  found  a  curly  grain.  From  the  bark  a 
dye  has  been  extracted  and  used  by  the  Indians.  Ink  also  has 
been  made  from  it. 


PLATE  XXXIV.     HOBBLE-BUSH.      Vibuniiun  almfoluoii. 

COPyHIGHT,    1900,    BV   FREDERICK  ».   STOKES  COMPANY. 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


Enlarged  flower. 

PLATE  XXXVI.     SILVER  MAPLE.     Acer  saccharinum. 
(85) 


86 


TREES  GROWING  NEAR  WATER. 


SILVER  MAPLE. 


WHITE  MAPLE. 

{Plate  XXX  VJ.) 

Acer  sacchdriniim. 


SOFT  MAPLE. 


FAMILY.  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Maple.       Branches^  pendulous      -y^-iiij  feet.      New  Bruiislvick  to  March,  April. 

or  wide-spreading.  Fla.  and  westward.      Fruit:   May,  June. 

Bark:  reddish  brown;  flaky.  Leaves  :  simple;  opposite  ;  with  long  petioles; 
rounded  in  outline  and  having  five  lobes  ;  equally  notched  and  toothed  ;  the 
lower  two  smaller  than  the  other  three.  Base  of  leaf,  square  or  heart-shaped  ; 
apex  of  lobes,  pointed.  Sinuses  :  narrow  ;  pointed.  Brilliant  pale  green  above, 
-silvery  white  beneath  Pubescent  when  young,  becoming  glabrous;  thin. 
Flowers:  small;  yellowish  green;  without  petals;  growing  on  pedicels  in 
almost  sessile  corymbs  from  lateral  buds  and  appearing  before  the  leaves.  Pis- 
tillate and  staminate  blossoms  growing  in  separate  clusters  on  the  same  or  dif- 
ferent trees.  Fruit :  yellowish  green,  samaras  growing  on  long,  drooping  pedi- 
cels ;  glabrous  at  maturity.      Wings  :  large  ;  one  frequently  undeveloped. 

About  the  leaf  of  the  white 
maple  there  is  something  very 
beautiful.  Its  lines  are  so  sharply 
cut,  and  it  is  so  free  from  the  least 
approach  to  stiffness.  It  shows 
rather  the  crispness  of  line  that 
artists  are  always  endeavouring 
to  throw  into  tlieir  pictures.  The 
texture  of  the  leaf  is  fine,  too, 
and  pleasing.  Through  the  silver 
lining  run  the  pale  yellow  veins, 
and  the  colour  effect  is  most 
aesthetic.  It  seems  as  though  the 
singing  of  the  breezes  through 
these  trees  must  be  more  classic 
and  captivating  than  when  it  rushes 
through  those  that  are  more 
coarsely  formed.  The  flowers  are  exquisite,  and  in  earliest 
spring  the  trees,  when  seen  from  a  distance,  appear  to  be  tipped 
with  scarlet.  In  cultivation  the  tree  is  very  general,  as  its 
beauty  and  rapid  growth  make  it  desirable  for  shade.  Un- 
fortunately, through  the  brittleness  of  its  branches,  it  is  often 


Acer  sacchdrinutn. 


s 

Enlarged  Enlarged  fridt 

f^istillatefloiver. 


PLATE  XXXVll.     POISON  SUMAC.     Rhus  Vcrnix. 
(87) 


88 


TREES  GROWING  NEAR  WATER. 


damaged  by  high  winds.     Throughout  the  valley  of  the  Mississ- 
ippi it  is  one  of  the  most  common  of  the  river  trees. 

From  its  light-coloured,  strong  and  rather  brittle  wood  fur- 
niture is  made,  and  it  is  largely  used  for  interior  work.  The 
sap  of  the  tree  yields  maple  sugar  in  small  quantities. 

POISON  SUHAC.     POISON  ELDER.     POISON  ASH. 

P0I50N  DOGWOOD.      {Plate  XXXV  11?^ 

Rhiis  Virnix, 


FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT 

Sumac.      Heady  round:  branches,     d-i^/eet. 

pendulous. 


RANGE 
New  England  south- 
ward to  Fill,  and 
^vesiward. 


TIME  OF  BLOOM 
June,  July. 
Fruit:  Sept. 


Bark:  light  grey;  smooth.  Branches:  reddish  brown  ;  smooth.  Leaves: 
compound;  alternate;  with  reddish,  smooth,  unwinged  stalks;  odd-pinnate, 
with  from  seven  to  thirteen  oblong  leaflets  which  have  short  red  petiolules,  the 
terminal  one  longer  than  the  other.  Apex  and  base  pointed  or  rounded. 
Edge:  entire;  dark  green  above,  paler  below.  Midrib:  scarlet  above;  thin; 
glabrous  at  maturity.  Flowers :  dioecious;  dull  greenish  white;  axillary  ;  many 
imperfect;  growing  in  loose  panicles.  Berries:  greenish  white;  about  the  size 
of  peas ;  smooth  ;  shiny  ;  poisonous  to  the  touch  as  is  the  whole  plant.  Juice  : 
turning  black  with  exposure  to  the  air. 

Not  even  among  the  plant  world  can  everything  be  taken 
on  faith  as  good  and  beautiful.  Here  are  the  harmful  spirits 
as  well  as  in  other  places,  and  unhappily  it  must  be  related 
that  such  a  one  is  the  sumac  of  the  swamps. 
So  violently  poisonous  to  the  touch  is  this 
native  species  that  to  those  that  are  not 
immune  to  its  evil  effects  even  passing  by  the 
shrub  is  fraught  with  danger,  should  the 
breeze  be  in  such  a  direction  as  to  place 
upon  them  its  flying  pollen.  It  is  especially 
to  be  avoided  when  the  pores  of  the  skin 
are  open  as  in  perspiration.  That  the  edges 
of  the  leaflets  are  entire  ;  that  its  leaf-stalks 
are  without  wing;  and  that  its  whitish  fruit  grows  in  axillary 
panicles  are  simple  guides  to  its  identification.  By  remember- 
ing them  the  possibility  of  confusing  it  with  other  and  harm- 
less species  will  be  avoided.     The  tree,  however,  is  not  wholly 


Rktis  Virnix. 


PLATE  XXXVIII.     SWAMP  HICKORY.     Ilicoria  mtnliiia. 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,    BY  FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  NEAR  WATER.  89 

bad.  Some  of  its  properties  are  of  considerable  medicinal 
value.  The  juice  also  can  be  used  as  a  black,  lustrous  varnish 
similar  to  that  furnished  by  the  related  Japanese  lacquer  tree. 
The  poison  sumac  is  almost  exclusively  found  in  swamps. 

SWAHP  HICKORY.     BITTER-NUT.     {Plate  XXX VJI I.) 

Hicbria  minima. 

FAMILY                     SHAPE                       HEIGHT                   RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Walnut,      Head,  broad:  branches^     50-75-100      Maine  ivestward  and  May ,  June. 

upright.                         feet.              southward  to  Fla.  Fruit:  Sept..,  Oct. 
and  Texas. 

Bark:  bright  reddish  brown;  broken  into  thin,  close,  flake-like  scales. 
Leaves:  compound  ;  alternate  ;  odd-pinnate;  with  slender,  sometimes  flattened 
stalks  and  having  from  five  to  nine  sessile  leaflets  ;  lanceolate  ;  pointed  at  the 
apex  and  pointed  or  blunt  at  the  base  ;  sharply  and  coarsely  serrate  ;  glabrous 
on  both  sides  or  very  sparingly  pubescent  underneath.  Dark  yellow  green 
aijove,  lighter  below.  Staminate  catkins :  growing  in  threes  on  slender 
peduncles  and  having  lanceolate  bracts  ;  pubescent.  Pistillate  flowers  :  cov- 
ered with  a  yellow  tomentum.  F7-uit :  with  a  dark  green,  rounded  husk;  soft 
and  thin,  with  winged  edges  and  splitting  when  ripe  half  way  to  the  middle. 
Nitt :  whitish;  broader  than  long;  thin-shelled;  depressed  at  the  top.  Ker- 
nel :  very  bitter. 

By  the  swamp  borders  or  in  the  low,  wet  woods  of  many  lo- 
calities this  noble  tree  is  plentiful.  Its  range  extends  farther 
northward  than  that  of  any  other  one  of  the  hickories,  and  it  is 
abundant  in  Canada.  Its  rapid  growth  and  broad,  shapely  head 
also  make  it  a  desirable  feature  in  cultivation.  But  its  fruit  is 
much  better  to  look  upon  than  it  is  to  eat  ;  it  is  indeed  a  "  bit- 
ter-nut." From  the  accompanying  illustration  an  idea  of  the 
exquisite  colouring  of  its  foliage  can  be  gained,  and  it  is  inter- 
esting to  know  that  it  owes  its  sunny  tint  to  many  small,  golden 
glands  that  lie  on  the  under  surface  of  the  leaflets. 

Commercially  Hicoria  minima  is  less  valuable  than  is  general 
with  those  of  its  genus.  Ox-yokes  and  hoops  are,  however, 
made  from  its  pliable  wood,  and  on  the  hearth  it  feeds  a  quick- 
snapping,  lively  flame. 


FAMILY 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE 

Walnut. 

Head,  narroiv;  branches. 

s,<y-xoo/eet. 

Va.  to  Fla.  and 

upright. 

Texas. 

90  TREES  GROWING  NEAR  WATER. 

WATER  HICKORY.     SWAMP  HICKORY.     BITTER 
PECAN.      {Plate  XXXIX.) 

Hicbria  aqtidtica. 

TIME  OF  BLOOM 

March,  April. 

Fruit:    Sept.,  Oct. 

Bark:  light  reddish  brown;  rough  and  having  scales.  Buds:  reddish 
brown;  flattened,  the  terminal  one  very  large.  Leaves:  compound;  alternate; 
odd-pinnate,  with  from  seven  to  eleven  ovate-lanceolate  leaflets  pointed  at  the 
apex  and  rounded  or  wedge-shaped  at  the  base  ;  serrate  ;  dark  green  above, 
brown  and  lustrous  below  and  pubescent.  Starninaie  flowers  :  growing  in 
long,  slender  catkins  and  produced  from  separate  or  leaf-bearing  buds.  Pistil- 
late flowers  :  oblong  and  covered  with  pubescence.  Fruit  ;  growing  in  clus- 
ters of  a  few,  with  a  greenish,  thin  husk  which  splits  into  four  sections.  A^ut : 
darkly-coloured  ;  four-angled;  rough  and  flattened,  and  having  a  thin  shell. 
Kernel :  bitter  ;    puckery  to  the  taste. 

Away  from  the  swamps  this  tree  is  seldom  seen  growing  in 
the  full  prime  of  its  beauty,  but  when  there,  even  although  it 
is  a  small  tree,  it  has  about  it  the  same  picturesqueness  and 
freshness  that  is  associated  with  the  genus.  Its  fondness  truly 
is  for  low  country.  Often  the  river  swamps  in  which  it  seeks 
its  home  are  inundated  during  part  of  the  year,  and  for  this 
reason  it  is  difficult  of  access  when  its  timber  is  desired.  It 
would  seem,  however,  as  though  the  commercial  instinct  might 
be  sacrificed  rather  than  take  it  away  from  places  to  which  it 
adds  so  sylvan  a  charm,  especially  as  its  dark  brown  wood 
is  of  less  value  than  that  of  any  other  one  of  the  hickories. 
Although  closely  grained  and  compact  it  is  very  brittle  and  is 
used  for  little  else  than  fuel  and  fences.  Once  having  seen  the 
fruit  of  the  tree  it  cannot  readily  be  mistaken;  for  the  dusky, 
flattened  and  rough  shell  is  very  distinctive. 

ASH=LEAVED  flAPLE.     BOX  ELDER.      {Plate  XL.) 
Acer  Negiindo. 


FAMILY 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE 

TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Maple. 

Wide-spreading. 

20-50  feet,  or 

Vermont  and  Penn, 

April. 

higher. 

southward  and 
7uestward. 

Fruit:  June. 

Bark  of  branchlets :  greenish  brown  ;  ridged.      Twif^s  :  pea-green.     Leaves: 
compound;  opposite,  with  long,  slender  stalks;  odd-pinnate,  with  three,  five 


Pis  tit  III  te  floiver. 

PLATE  XXXIX.     WATER  HICKORY.     Hicoria  aquatica. 
(90 


92 


TREES  GROWING  NEAR  WATER. 


Vi-c 


*^>/-.,."".      ...;■  -     •■-••  -. 


or  rarely  seven  ovate  leaflets ;  taper-pointed  at  the  apex  and  pointed,  rounded 
or  wedged-shaped  at  the  base  ;  coarsely  and  remotely  toothed,  often  entire  at 
the  base  ;  deep  green  above,  pale  underneath.  J^ids  :  distinct ;  slightly  pubes- 
cent. Flowers:  yellowish  green;  dioecious;  apetalous  ;  small;  growing  from 
the  sides  of  the  branches  in  drooping  clusters  and  appearing  before  the  leaves. 
The  fertile  ones  in  racemes  of  from  six  to  eight  inches  long.  Satnaras  :  large; 
yellowish  green  ;  the  double  wings,  veiny. 

The  box  elder  is  a  rather  mysterious 
character  and  has  much  to  answer  for 
in  the  way  it  has  puzzled  the  minds  of 
botanists  and  earnest-thinking  people. 
In  manner  of  growth  its  foliage  has 
suggested  to  some  the  elders,  and 
again  it  has  been  thought  to  be  con- 
nected with  the  ashes.  Its  fruit,  how- 
ever, shows  conclusively  that  it  belongs 
to  the  maples.  In  spite  of  this  ten- 
dency to  conciliate  all,  although  we 
should  give  it  the  benefit  of  the  doubt 
and  think  that  it  has  been  trying  always  to  imitate  the  best, 
it  is  a  handsome  tree  of  free  and  rapid  growth.  For  the 
ornamentation  of  parks  or  gardens  it  is  well  adapted,  as  its 
foliage  is  a  lively,  brilliant  green,  and  it  is  able  to  resist  long 
droughts.  Unfortunately  it  is  not  regarded  as  being  very  long- 
lived. 

The  wood  of  the  ash-leaved  maple  is  creamy  white  and  not 
strong.  From  it  an  inferior  sort  of  furniture  is  made.  In 
small  quantities  the  bark  yields  maple  sugar.  To  the  tree  is 
attached  the  distinction  of  having  been  one  of  the  first  of  the 
North  American  ones  that  were  known  in  Europe. 


Acer  negiindo. 


BLACK  ASH.     HOOP  ASH.     WATER  ASH.     {Plate  XLI.) 


Frdxinus  nigra. 


FAMILY  SHAPE 

Olive.     Head,  narrow,  slender: 
branches,  upright. 


HEIGHT  RANGE 

■ip-%ofeet,or    New  Foundland  west- 
higher,  'ward,  southward  to 
Fla.  and  Ark. 


TIME  OF  BLOOM 
April,  May. 
Fruit:  Jitiy, 


Bark:  dark,  tinged  with  grey;  rough  and  broken  into  irregular  plates,  be- 
coming smooth  in  the  branches  which  are  marked  with  white,  wart-like  dots. 


Enlarged  flower. 

PLATE  XL.     ASH-LEAVED   MAPLE.     Acerncgiindo. 

(93) 


PLATE  XLI.     BLACK  ASH.     Fraxinus  nigra. 


TREES  GROWING  NEAR  WATER.  95 

Leaf-Buds  :  bluish  black.  Leaves:  twelve  to  sixteen  inches  long;  compound; 
opposite;  odd-pinnate;  having  grooved  stallis  with  from  seven  to  eleven 
broadly  lanceolate,  sessile  leaflets,  taper-pointed  at  the  apex,  and  narrowed  or 
rounded  at  the  base  ;  sharply  and  irregularly  serrate  ;  deep  green  and  glabrous 
on  the  upper  side;  paler  below  and  slightly  pubescent  along  the  whitish  ribs. 
Flowers :  dioecious  ;  growing  in  long  panicles  and  appearing  before  the  leaves. 
Samaras  :  oblong  ;   blunt  at  both  ends;  winged  all  around. 

As  early  as  March  we  may  begin  to  look  about  for  the  blue- 
black  buds  of  the  black  ash.  They  seem  not  to  mind  about  en- 
countering the  cold,  and  the  tree  is  found  farther  northward 
than  any  other  one  of  the  American  ashes.  In  the  swamps  it 
grows  at  times  so  prolifically  as  almost  to  fill  in  the  wet  ground. 
When  taken  away  and  transplanted  it  is  short-lived.  As  soon 
as  the  first  frost  touches  the  leaves,  or  even  earlier  in  the 
autumn,  they  turn  a  rusty  brown  and  begin  to  fall.  When  they 
are  crushed  the  odour  they  emit  is  similar  to  that  of  the  elder. 

The  light  brownish  wood  has  a  beautiful  grain  and  is  heavy 
although  not  very  strong.  It  is  used  in  cabinet  work  and  ex- 
tensively for  the  making  of  barrel  hoops.  The  Indians  know 
well  the  black  ash  and  seek  the  pliable  young  saplings  to  use 
in  constructing  their  baskets. 

RED  ASH.     {Plate  XLII.) 

Frdxiniis  Pennsyhdm'ca. 

TIME  OF  BLOOM 

April,  May. 


FAMILY 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE 

Olive. 

Head,  irregular: 

30-80  yv^/. 

Atlantic  states  and 

branches,  upright. 

Nciu  Brunswick 
to  Minnesota. 

Bark :  brownish  grey  ;  slightly  furrowed  vertically  and  becoming  smooth  on 
the  branches.  Young  shoots  and  leaf-stalks  conspicuous  for  their  pubescent, 
rusty  down.  Leaves:  ten  to  twelve  inches  long;  compound;  opposite;  odd- 
pinnate;  with  grooved,  pubescent  stalks  and  from  five  to  nine  long  ovate  or 
lanceolate  leaflets,  which  have  downy  petiolules  hardly  one  quarter  of  an  inch 
long.  Apex,  taper-pointed ;  1)ase,  pointed.  Edge:  entire  or  sparingly  serrate 
towards  the  apex.  Light  green  above,  paler  on  the  under  side  and  becoming 
reddish.  When  unfolding,  covered  with  a  white  tomentum.  Flowers :  dioe- 
cious;  growing  in  compact  panicles;  without  petals.  Saviaras :  from  one  to 
two  and  a  half  inches  long  ;  broadly  linear  or  oblanceolate,  the  wing  rounded 
or  bluntly  tipped  at  the  apex.     They  remain  on  the  branches  over  the  winter. 

The  red  ash  is  so  called  because  the  inner  surface  of  the 
outer  bark  of  the  branches  is  a  light  red,  and  the  down  that 


Single  sajjiara. 

PLATE  XLII.     RED  ASH.     Fraxinits  Pe7insylva}iica. 
(96) 


TREES  GROWING  NEAR  WATER.  97 

appears  on  the  branches  is  also  a  ruddy,  rich  shade.  The 
former  one  of  these  peculiarities  is  a  feature  shared  by  the 
white  ash  which  commercially  is  a  more  valuable  tree.  In  the 
autumn  the  leaves  of  the  red  ash  turn  yellow,  or  brown  and 
yellow,  before  falling.  When  the  question  of  an  ash's  identity 
is  to  be  settled,  it  should  be  remembered  that  the  trees  are 
both  staminate  and  pistillate  ;  and  it  is  only  on  the  latter  ones 
that  fruit  will  be  found.  The  staminate  trees  also  must  be  ac- 
corded their  true  place  and  not  condemned  as  useless  ones 
which  no  longer  bear  fruit. 

GREEN  ASH.      {Plate  XLIII.) 

Frdxiniis  lanceolata, 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Otive.     Round-topped;   branches,     20-65 _/"f(V.      Xeiu  England,  south-  Aprii,  May. 

spreading.  zvard  and  2uestward. 

Bark:  greyish  brown;  furrowed.  Brii;ic7i/ets:  ash  coloured  and  marked 
with  pale,  cell-like  places.  Leaves:  compound;  opposite;  odd-pinnate,  with 
from  five  to  nine  ovate  or  lanceolate,  taper-pointed  leaflets  which  grow  on 
smooth  petiolules  hardly  a  quarter  of  an  inch  long;  sharply  serrate  and 
becoming  entire  towards  the  base.  Bright  green  on  both  sides  and  glabrous, 
although  occasionally  downy  in  the  angles  of  the  ribs.  Flcnvers :  dioecious. 
Samaras  :  small;  similar  to  those  of  the  white  ash  ;  the  wings  more  spatulate 
in  outline. 

Between  the  red  ash  and  the  green  ash  there  is  great  similar- 
ity. Their  flowers  are  identical,  and  the  variableness  of  the 
green  ash  is  added  to  make  it  somewhat  difficult  to  tell  them 
apart,  excepting  in  extreme  forms.  The  green  ash,  however,  is 
very  nearly  glabrous  throughout,  and  it  is  the  smaller  of  the 
two  trees.  Its  leaves  also  are  shorter,  narrower  and  more 
sharply  serrate.  But  it  is  the  intense,  lustrous,  bright  green 
of  the  foliage  by  which  it  is  most  commonly  known.  Whether 
the  rain  falls  or  the  sun  shines  upon  the  leaves  they  are  ever 
brilliantly,  beautifully  green.  Of  all  the  ashes  it  is  the  one 
most  planted  for  ornament,  and  it  has  a  rare  faculty  for  adapting 
itself  to  new  surroundings.  It  requires  an  abundance  of  sun- 
light. 


PLATE  XLlll.     GREEN  ASH.     Fraxinus  lanceolata. 


TREES  GROWING  NEAR  WATER.        99 

Its  wood  is  brown  and  strong.  It  is,  however,  not  regarded 
as  being  of  much  value  commercially,  although  necessity  has 
sometimes  caused  it  to  be  used  as  a  substitute  for  the  wood  of 
the  white  ash.  This  tree  and  the  red  ash,  while  preferring 
moist  ground,  often  grow  on  drier  soil. 

"  The  mountain  stirr'd  its  bushy  crown 
And,  as  tradition  teaches, 
Young  ashes  pirouetted  down 

Coquetting  with  young  beeches  ; 
And  briony-vine  and  ivy-wreath 

Ran  forward  to  his  rhyming. 

And  from  the  valleys  underneath 

Came  little  copses  climbing." 

— Tennyson. 


BALD  CYPRESS.     CYPRESS.     {Plate  XLIV.) 
Taxbdiuni  distichuin. 


FAMILY 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE 

TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Pine. 

Conical:  branches^ 
spreading. 

6o-\^o  yeet. 

Delaware  to  Texas., 
Arkansas  northward. 

April. 

Bark:  reddish  brown  ;  furrowed.  Braiuhlets:  slender.  Leaves:  light  green  ; 
simple;  growing  closely  in  two  ranks  along  the  branches  ;  half  an  inch  long; 
needle-shaped ;  pointed  ;  occurring  awl-shaped  and  overlapping  each  other ; 
deciduous.  Flozuers:  monoecious  ;  yellowish  ;  a]:)pearing  some  time  before  the 
leaves.  Staminate flowers-  growing  compactly  in  terminal,  drooping  panicled 
spikes.  Pistillate  ones:  growing  in  rounded  clusters.  Cones :  light  brown;  glob- 
ular ;  the  several  angular  scales  forming  a  closed  ball  until  mature. 

There  is  a  strangeness  in  the  ways  and  majestic  aloofness 
of  the  bald  cypress.  It  is  not  as  other  trees.  In  the  Atlantic 
and  Gulf  states,  where  it  sometimes  forms  extensive  forests, 
few  can  enter  without  feeling  a  desire  to  know  its  history.  It 
is  ingenious  too.  That  it  may  prevent  the  escape  of  moisture 
and  resist  the  violence  of  autumnal  gales,  is  thought  to  be  the 
reason  that  its  leaves,  which  may  have  been  slender  and  spread 
out  from  the  branches,  sometimes  become  close  and  scale-like. 
At  the  time  of  pollenation,  when  it  is  shedding  its  golden 
dust,  and  with  its  leaves  in  various  positions,  it  is  represented 
by  the  illustration. 


loo  TREES  GROWING  NEAR  WATER. 

But  more  interesting  tlian  all  else  about  the  tree  are  the  so- 
called  cypress  knees,  a  feature  that  has  baffled  the  theories 
and  explanations  of  many.  Dr.  Charles  Mohr,  who  has  studied 
the  subject  most  profoundly  and  is  an  authority  on  the  form- 
ation and  usefulness  of  these  knees,  has  been  most  kind  in  con- 
tributing the  following  account  of  them  to  "  A  Guide  to  the 
Trees."  In  his  letter  he  says  :  "  The  following  information  has 
been  taken  as  concisely  as  possible  from  the  statements  made  in 
the  manuscript  of  my  monograph  on  Taxodium  distichum 
and  transmitted  to  the  Forestry  division  of  the  United  States 
department  of  Agriculture. 

"  The  pyramidal  or  conical  excrescences  of  the  roots  of  the 
cypress  known  as  cypress  knees  and  which  form  such  a 
striking  peculiarity  of  the  trees  are  always  produced  under 
water,  or  in  a  constantly  water-soaked  soil.  They  are  pro- 
duced often  in  great  number  within  a  radius  of  from  twenty- 
five  to  forty  feet  or  more  from  the  trunk,  varying  from  two  to 
six  feet  and  more  in  height,  and  always  rise  above  the  water. 
They  are  simple  or  with  several  tumid  divisions  and  normally 
bare  of  leaf-bearing  sprouts.  In  the  trees  approaching  their 
fuller  growth  they  are  most  frequently  hollow,  perfectly  smooth 
on  the  inside  of  the  shell,  with  its  wood  compact  and  firm. 

"  The  opinion  about  the  uses  these  knees  serve  in  the  house- 
hold of  the  tree  is  divided,  and  their  import  to  its  life  is  not 
yet  perfectly  understood.  On  one  side,  it  is  contended  that 
their  purpose  is  purely  mechanical,  to  serve  the  tree  as  an 
additional  means  for  the  support  of  the  enormous  weight  of 
the  tree  in  the  loose  ground,  and  to  increase  its  resistance  to 
the  strain  to  which  it  is  subjected  under  the  pressure  of  heavy 
winds.  On  a  close  study  of  the  root  system  below  ordinary 
water  mark,  accidentally  laid  bare,  the  conclusion  can  scarcely 
be  avoided  that  the  function  of  the  knees  is  chiefly  mechanical. 
As  an  acute  observer  states,  'to  strengthen  the  roots  that  the 
tree  may  anchor  itself  safely  in  a  yielding  soil,  acting  as 
trusses  to  increase  their  capacity  for  holding  the  tree  firmly  .to 


PLATr  .■,_. 


KESS.      Taxoc/m, 


COPYRIGHT     1900,    BT   FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY. 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  NEAR  WATER.  loi 

the  soil.'  This  opinion  finds  confirmation  in  the  fact  that 
scarcely  any  other  tree  of  our  forests  offers  a  greater  resistance 
to  the  force  of  storms  under  the  most  unfavourable  soil  con- 
ditions. 

"  On  the  other  hand  it  is  held  that  the  function  of  the  knees  is 
principally  physiological  by  acting  as  organs  of  aeration.  The 
exposed  parts  of  the  knees  effect  the  absorption,  and  by  their 
chlorophyll-bearing  tissue,  the  partial  decomposition  of  atmos- 
pheric gases  under  the  influence  of  light,  and  their  trans- 
mission to  the  sap  of  the  roots,  promote  the  process  of 
assimilation  in  parts  of  the  tree  debarred  from  a  sufficient 
supply  of  the  same. 

"With  the  decay  of  the  tree,  the  knees  rot  and  finally  disap- 
pear ;  the  same  is  said  to  take  place  after  the  drainage  of  the 
swamp.  Not  being  needed  they  are  not  present  in  the  trees 
grown  on  high  land. 

"  From  the  fact  that  the  knees  serve  the  tree  mechanically 
by  increasing  the  force  of  the  tree  to  maintain  its  foothold  in 
a  yielding  ground  and  that  further  by  their  physiological 
function  the  processes  involved  in  its  nutrition  and  growth 
are  promoted,  it  appears  clearly  that  in  the  peculiar  develop- 
ment of  the  root  system  the  cypress  possesses  the  means  of 
adapting  itself  perfectly  to  the  conditions  of  its  immediate 
surroundings." 


SOUTHERN  WHITE  CEDAR.      {Plate  XL  V.) 

Chanicecyparis  thyoides. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Pine.         Spire-like;  branches,       -yi-^y^fect.       Atlantic  seaboard  and         April,  May. 
horizontal.  Gulf  states  to  Miss. 

Bark :  light  reddish  brown  ;  very  fibrous ;  separating  into  loose  scales. 
Branchlets:  brown,  their  thin  bark  also  separating.  Leaves:  tiny;  simple; 
ovate  and  awl-shaped  ;  overlapjnng  each  other  like  scales  and  growing  closely 
together  in  rows  of  four,  up  and  down  the  branchlets.  Dull  brownish  or  blue- 
green  ;  glaucous.  Cf?;;^^  ;  hardly  one-half  an  inch  wide;  globose;  sessile  on 
leafy  branches  ;  purplish  at  maturity  ;  glaucous,  and  o]:)ening  towards  the  centre 
when   ripe,  7iot  towards  the  base.     Scales  :  thick  ;  several-pointed  and  as  though 


Enlarged  hud. 

PLATE  XLV.     SOUTHERN  WHITE  CEDAR.     ChamcecyParis  thyoides. 

(I02) 


PLATE  XLVI.     ARBOR-VITAE.      Thuja  o. 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,    BY  FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  NEAR  WATER. 


103 


fastened   at   their  centres.     Seeds  :  one  or  two  under  each   fertile  scale;  oval; 
winged  at  the  sides. 

In  the  fulness  of  Nature's  heart  she  has  provided  this  beau- 
tiful and  fragrant  tree  to  flourish  abun- 
dantly in  places  where  other  useful  timber 
trees  are  very  chary  of  establishing  them- 
selves. It  grows  in  deep,  cold  swamps 
which  are  frequently  immersed  during 
several  months  of  the  year.  In  New 
England  and  the  Middle  States  it  is  not 
as  well-known  as  it  is  throughout  its 
more  southern  range.  The  deeply  tinted 
little  cones  which  it  develops  are  a  pretty 
sight  as  they  jauntily  sit  among  the  blue- 
green  foliage:  and  the  symmetrical  figure 
of  the  tree  makes  a  clearly  cut  and 
distinctive  feature  on  the  landscape. 

In  the  south  the  wood  of  the  tree  is 
used  in  ship-building.  It  is  slightly  fra- 
grant, light-coloured  and  most  durable  when  in  contact  with 
the  soil.  The  fact  that  it  is  soft  and  easily  worked  makes 
it  desirable  for  many  purposes. 


Chamacyparis  thyo\des. 


ARBOR  VIT/E.     WHITE  CEDAR.     {Plate  XLVI.) 

Thuja  occt'dentdh's. 


FAMILY 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE 

TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Pine. 

Conical;  branches^ 
pendulous. 

20-65  feet. 

North  Carolina  north- 
ward into  Canada^  and 
westward. 

April,  May. 

Bark  :  greyish  brown  ;  tinged  with  orange  or  red,  and  separated  into  narrow, 
deciduous  strips.  Leaves  :  simple  ;  opposite  ;  blunt ;  scale-like  and  overlapping 
each  other  as  they'grow  closely  together  on  branchlets  that  are  very  flat.  Bright 
green;  aromatic;  especially  so  when  bruised.  Cones:  tiny;  yellowish  brown; 
ovate  ;  nodding  and  opening  to  the  base  when  ripe.  Seales :  six  to  ten  ;  ob- 
long ;  without  points ;  smooth.  Seeds :  one  or  two,  with  thin  broad  wings 
notched  at  the  apex. 

This  very  formal  and  prim  appearing  tree  has  for  along  time 
been  extensively  planted.     In    fact  it  was   probably  the    first 


164  TREES  GROWING  NEAR  WATER. 

North  American  tree  to  be  known  in  Europe  and  has  been  cul- 
tivated in  Paris  since  before  the  middle  of  the  XVIth  century. 
It  forms  an  excellent  hedge.  When  under  the  gardener's  care 
it  is  very  prone  to  vary  and  produce  new  varieties,  but  it  can 
hardly  be  said  to  become  more  beautiful  than  when  in  its 
wild  state.  The  extremes  of  climate  affect  it  very  little.  In 
America  it  becomes  smaller  and  grows  less  abundantly  as  it 
reaches  the  limits  of  its  southern  range.  Northward  it  covers 
large  areas  of  swamp  land,  and  the  forests  that  it  forms  are  al- 
most impenetrable.  As  of  all  coniferous  trees,  its  fruit  is  inter- 
esting. The  tiny  cones  remain  on  the  branches  over  the  winter 
to  greet  the  new  growth  in  the  springtime.  This  is  an  act  of 
pure  courtesy  on  their  part,  as  during  the  preceding  autumn 
they  have  finished  their  own  work  and  ripened  and  scattered 
their  seeds. 

Speaking  of  this  tree,  Thoreau  says  :  "  How  little  I  know  of 
that  arbor  vitae  when  I  have  heard  only  what  science  can  tell 
me.  It  is  but  a  word,  it  is  not  a  tree  of  life.  But  there  are 
twenty  words  for  the  tree  and  its  different  parts  which  the  In- 
dian gave,  which  are  not  in  our  botanies,  which  imply  a  more 
practical  and  vital  science.  He  used  it  every  day.  He  was 
well  acquainted  with  its  wood,  its  bark  and  its  leaves.  No 
science  does  more  than  arrange  what  knowledge  we  have  of 
any  class  of  objects.  But,  generally  speaking,  how  much  more 
conversant  was  the  Indian  with  any  wild  animal  or  plant  than 
we,  and  in  his  language  is  implied  all  that  intimacy,  as  much  as 
ours  is  expressed  in  our  language," 

It  is  true  the  Indians  had  many  uses  for  the  fragrant,  yellowish 
brown  wood  of  the  tree.  They  separated  its  thick  layer  of  sap- 
wood,  as  they  could  do  with  ease,  and  with  it  strengthened 
their  canoes.  They  also  used  parts  of  it  in  the  making  of  their 
baskets.  Fluids  of  medicinal  value  are  yielded  by  the  tree, 
and  they  have  some  local  popularity  for  the  curing  of  warts. 
The  fresh  young  branches  are  used  to  make  brooms. 


TREES  GROWING  NEAR  WATER. 


los 


AHERICAN  LARCH.    TAHARACK. 

{Plate  XL  VII.) 
Larix  laricina. 


HACKHATACK. 


FAMILY 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE 

TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Pint. 

Tall,  straight:  branches, 
spreading. 

50-iooyeet. 

Northern  III.  to 
N.  £.,  northward 
to  Neiu  Foundland. 

May. 

Bark:  close,  becoming  scaly.  Leaves  :  less  than  three  quarters  of  an  inch 
or  two  inches  long  ;  simple  ;  thread-like  ;  growing  in  bunches  of  many  on  short 
twigs  along  the  branches  and  having  no  sheaths  ;  pale  green  ;  soft ;  delicate  ; 
they  wither  and  fall  in  the  autumn.  Cones:  about  half  an  inch  long; 
broadly  ovate;  growing  on  short  peduncles  at  the  ends  of  the  branches; 
greenish  when  young,  and  becoming  purplish  or  brown  at  maturity.  Seeds  : 
few ;  rounded  ;  thin  ;  entire. 

"  Give  me  of  your  roots,  O  Tamarack  ! 
Of  your  fibrous  roots,  O  Larch-Tree  I 
My  canoe  to  bind  together, 
So  to  bind  the  ends  together 
That  the  water  may  not  enter, 
That  the  river  may  not  wet  me  ! 
And  the  Larch  with  all  its  fibres, 
Shivered  in  the  air  of  morning. 
Touched  his  forehead  with  its  tassels, 
Said,  with  one  long  sigh  of  sorrow, 
Take  them  all,  O  Hiawatha  !  " 

How  beautifully  has  Longfel- 
low depicted  the  Indian  as  one 
in  sympathy  with  nature.  When 
Hiawatha  began  to  build  his 
canoe,  he  went  to  all  the  trees 
that  he  knew  has  such  materials 
as  were  necessary  to  him,  and 
said,  "  Give  me — "  ;  and  although 
it  should  have  caused  their  death, 
they  answered,  "  Take,  O  Hia- 
watha !  "  Here  was  no  ruthless 
tearing  away  of  life  without  per- 
mission ;  it  was  the  tribute  of  a 
man's     understanding    to    these  ^^^ 

mute  inhabitants  of    the    forest.  '  Lhrix  laridna. 


Staminaie        Scale  of  cone. 

Jlo'Mcr 


PLATE  XLVII.     AMERICAN  LARCH.     Larix  laricina. 
(io6) 


TREES  GROWING  NEAR  WATER.  107 

Although  they  have  no  souls,  life  must  still  be  sweet  to 
them. 

The  American  larch  with  its  soft,  fine  foliage  is  one  of  our 
most  graceful  trees.  In  the  early  spring  its  flowers  peep  out, 
much  before  the  leaves  ;  they  grow  from  broad  lateral  buds, 
and  although  the  sterile  ones  are  yellow  the  fertile  ones  are  a 
brilliant  crimson.  The  light  brown  wood  of  the  tree  is  resinous 
and  very  durable.  Its  more  practical  uses  than  those  already 
referred  to  are  in  the  making  of  railroad  ties  and  various  parts 
of  ships. 

Z.  Europcea  is  a  relative  of  the  American  tree  w^hich  is  fre- 
quently seen  in  cultivation.  It  is  of  rapid  and  fine  growth  and 
very  ornamental.  Perhaps  its  colour  is  a  deeper  shade  of  green 
than  that  of  the  native  one,  and  its  leaves  are  a  trifle  longer. 
Its  branches  appear  to  droop  more,  and  its  cones  too  are  longer 
and  have  many  more  scales.  There  is  a  weeping  form  of  the 
European  larch  which  is  also  known  in  cultivation. 


Trees  Preferring  to  Grow  in  Moist  Soil: 
Lowlands  and  Meadows. 

A II  about  the  soil  was  moist  and  traversing  it  was  a  road 
that  had  become  hard  and  dry.  On  either  side  of  the  road 
greiv  trees.  They  were  zvater  trees  that  had  strayed  away 
from  home.  In  the  distance  trailed  a  sluggish  stream.  Did 
the  trees  long  for  it  ?  The  ones  on  the  farther  side  of  the 
road  inc lilted  over  it  so  that  a  squirrel  could  hardly  sit  tipright 
imder  them  ;  and  those  on  the  side  jiearest  the  water  leaned 
away  from  the  road  until  they  continually  broke  down  its  hard 
bank.     It  was  a  strange  scene  throiigJi  which  to  travel. 

In  the  lowlands,  away  from  the  streams  and  swamps,  there 
are  many  trees ;  but  they  are  mostly  contented  with  their  lot, 
and  not  so  unhappy  as  those  by  the  road. 

UMBRELLA-TREE.     ELK- WOOD.     {Plate  XL  VIII.) 

Magnolia  iripitala. 


FAMILY 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE 

TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Magnolia. 

Bushy. 

20-40  feet. 

Southeastern  Penn.  to 

Ala.;  tvestivard  to 

Ark.  and  Miss. 

May,  June. 

Bark:  light  grey;  smooth;  marked  with  small  dots  similar  to  blisters. 
Braftckes:  green  ;  turning  brown  and  grey  as  they  grow  older;  brittle.  Juice  : 
fragrant ;  bitter.  Leaves:  simple;  alternate;  ovate-lanceolate;  with  short, 
stout  petioles  and  growing  in  clusters  at  the  ends  of  the  branches ;  pointed  at 
the  apex  and  tapering  to  a  point  at  the  base  ;  entire  ;  bright  green  ;  the  lower 
surface  covered  with  a  thick  tomentum  at  maturity;  glabrous.  Flowers  :  seven 
and  eight  inches  in  diameter ;  cream-white  ;  growing  at  the  ends  of  the  branches. 
Sepals:  light  green  ;  obovate ;  reflexed  ;  thin.  Petals :  six  to  nine  ;  narrow 
and  concave.  Filaments:  bright  purple.  Cone  of/;-K//.' ovoid  ;  rose  coloured 
at  maturity. 

A  glance  at  this  tree  either  when  it  is  in  bloom  or  in  fruit  is 
enough  to  assure  us  that  it  is  a  magnolia.     Clustered  about  it 


PLATE  XLVlll.     UMBRELLA-TREE.     Magnolia  tripetala. 
(.109) 


PLATE  XLIX.     NORTH  AMERICAN  PAPAW.     Asiinina  triloba. 
(no) 


PLATE  L.     JAMAICA  CAPhr^    iKLc      >._  appjrif  ja>iiaucns 

COPyRfGHT,    1900,    BV  FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANV. 
PRINTED  IN  AMERIO. 


TREES  GROWING  IN  MOIST  SOIL.  iii 

are  many  family  traditions.  Although  it  cannot  vie  in  beauty 
or  outline  with  the  great-flowered  magnolia,  it  is  far  from  being 
without  its  own  loveliness.  Among  the  great,  lustrous  leaves, 
which  are  often  twenty  inches  long,  the  cylinder-shaped  bunches 
of  ruddy  fruit  rest  perhaps  even  more  peacefully  than  do  the 
unfolding  blossoms.  The  ribs  of  an  umbrella  are  somewhat 
suggested  by  the  arrangement  of  the  leaves  at  the  ends  of  the 
branches  and  it  was  this  peculiarity  which  led  the  early  settlers 
in  Virginia  and  North  Carolina  to  call  it  umbrella  or  parasol  tree. 
Its  specific  name  refers  to  its  three  petaloid  sepals.  The  tree 
is  nowhere  common.  It  grows  in  rather  wet,  deep  soil,  a  little 
inland  from  the  great  swamps,  and  by  the  borders  of  woods  it  is 
found  intermingled  with  masses  of  rhododendron.  The  tree  is 
more  hardy  than  many  others  of  the  family,  and  for  this  reason 
much  attention  has  been  paid  to  it  by  horticulturists.  It  is  the  spe- 
cies most  generally  seen  in  the  northern  United  States  and  in 
Europe. 

NORTH  AriERICAN  PAPAW.     CUSTARD  APPLE. 

{Plate  XLIX.) 

Asiinina  triloba. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Custard  apple.        Branches^  \o-i,o/cet.       Penn.  and  western  N.   1'.,  May,  June. 

spreading:  southward  to  lo^va  Fruit :  Sept., Oct. 

and  westiuard. 

Bark:  dark  brown;  marked  with  silvery  blotches  ;  smooth.  Branchlets : 
light  brown,  fringed  with  red  and  marked  with  narrow,  parallel  grooves. 
Leaves:  five  to  ten  inches  long;  simi)le  ;  alternate;  with  ])ubescent  petioles; 
obovate-lanceolate,  with  pointed  or  slightly  rounded  apex  and  taper-pointed  or 
rounded  base  ;  entire  ;  light  green  above,  paler  beneath  and  covered  on  the 
lower  surface  with  a  rusty  down  ;  glabrous  at  maturity  ;  thin  ;  glossy.  Fiozu- 
ers :  solitary;  axillary;  pendulous;  growing  on  club-shaped,  pubescent  ped- 
uncles and  appearing  with  the  leaves.  Sepals:  three;  pubescent.  Petals: 
greenish  yellow,  gradually  turning  to  dull  i)urple  ;  six,  in  two  rows,  the  inner 
ones  small.  Stamens:  numerous;  on  the  receptacle.  Pistils:  ajjpearing  as 
though  enclosed  in  a  round  head  formed  by  the  anthers.  Fricit :  three  to  five 
inches  long  ;  oblong  ;  yellow  and  glaucous  when  young,  becoming  dark  brown 
when  fully  ripe.     Fragrant ;  edible  ;  sweet. 

From  the  true  papaw  of  the  West  Indies,  this  one  is  very 
different  ;  and  the  genus  is  the  only  one  of  its  family  which  is 
not  tropical  in  its  preference.  It  can  hardly  be  said,  however, 
to  attain  its    full  state  of  development  in   the  north.     It  is  a 


112  TREES  GROWING  IN  MOIST  SOIL. 

small  tree  or  shrub,  often  only  a  bush,  and  when  in  full  foliage 
appears  as  though  it  were  weighted  down  with  the  abundance 
of  its  large,  shining  leaves.  In  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi 
the  tree  is  very  common,  and  about  that  district  its  fruit  is  sent 
in  large  quantities  to  the  markets.  Before  it  is  fully  ripe  it 
emits,  as  do  the  other  parts  of  the  tree,  a  peculiar  and  disagree- 
able odour. 

The  papaw  is  a  cautious  little  character  and  mistrusts  the 
vagaries  of  the  wind.  To  perform  the  office  of  cross-fertiliza- 
tion it  relies  with  greater  faith  on  the  insects,  for  they  can 
assuredly  be  attracted  by  their  appetites.  At  the  base  of  the 
inner  petals,  therefore,  the  flowers  secrete  abundant  nectar. 
The  stamens  are  raised  in  a  hemispherical  mass  from  the  cen- 
tre of  the  bell-shaped  flowers,  and  from  it  the  stigmas  protrude. 
As  the  insect  squeezes  his  body  through  the  small  opening  be- 
tween the  stamens  and  the  inner  petals  in  search  of  the  feast, 
he  is,  no  doubt,  quite  unconscious  that  the  stigmas  are  eagerly 
taking  from  him  the  golden  pollen  which  he  has  attracted  at 
his  last  stopping  place. 

JAMAICA  CAPER  TREE.     {Plate  Z.) 

Cdpparis  Jamaicmsis. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Caper.         Trunk,  straight,  slender.         iZ-20/eet.         Southern  Florida.     April,  May. 

Bark :  dark  reddish  brown ;  irregularly  broken.  BrancJdets :  angular. 
Leaves:  simple;  alternate;  oblong-lanceolate  or  elliptical;  growing  on  peti- 
oles about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  long;  rounded  and  notched  at  the  apex, 
rounded  at  the  base  ;  entire  ;  dark  yellowish  green  and  lustrous  on  the  upper 
side,  paler  below  and  rough  ifrom  the  presence  of  tiny  scales  ;  the  midrib  con- 
spicuous. Floweis  ;  white  ;  fragrant ;  growing  at  tlie  ends  of  the  branches  in  a 
terminal  cluster.  Sepals:  recurved.  Corolla:  with  four  rounded  petals  which 
become  purple  as  they  fade.  Stamens:  long;  numerous;  with  purple  filaments 
and  yellow  anthers.  Pods:  two  to  several  inches  long;  brownish  red  when 
ripe  and  containing  several  kidney-shaped  seeds. 

There  is  an  inspiration  to  be  had  from  the  pure,  white  flow- 
ers of  the  Jamaica  caper  tree,  with  their  long  filaments  as  deli- 
cate and  misty  in  colouring  as  the  threads  of  a  spider's  web. 
Their  fragrance  also  seems  to  be  quite  in  harmony  with  the 
warm,   luxurious  atmosphere   upon    which  they   lean.     In   the 


PLATE.  LI.     RED   BUD.     Cercis  Canadensis. 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,   BY   FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  IN  MOIST  SOIL. 


113 


West  Indies  the  tree  has  many  relatives,  and  there  when  the 
pods  of  the  species  have  turned  to  dark,  reddish  purple  they  are 
called,  with  a  strange  attempt  at  hilarity,  "  dead  man's  fingers." 
After  the  seeds  have  fallen  they  twist  many  times  in  drying. 
The  specimen  from  which  the  coloured  illustration  was  painted 
was  found  at  Jew-Fish  Key,  in  southern  Florida. 

The  yellow  wood  of  the  tree  is  tinted  with  red.  It  has  a  fine 
grain  and  a  surface  not  unlike  that  of  satin. 

RED  BUD.     AMERICAN  JUDAS=TREE.      {Plate  LI.) 

Cercis  Canadensis. 

FAMILY              SHAPE  HEIGHT                           RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Senna.      Broad,  Jltit  head;  io-y)/eet.       Ontario  to  N.J.  southward  April,  .May. 

branches,                                                 and  zvestivard.  Fruit:  Se/t. 
spreading. 

Bark:  purplish  grey,  the  young  branches  almost  smooth.  Leaves:  simple; 
alternate;  with  petioles  which  are  swollen  at  each  end  into  a  small,  round  ex- 
tuberance.  Rounded-cordate,  the  apex  tapering  into  a  blunt  point  and  the 
midrib  sometimes  projecting  into  a  bristle.  Palmately-veined  ;  entire ;  glab- 
rous or  often  slightly  pubescent  on  the  under  side  of  the  veins.  Flmuers : 
handsome  ;  several  growing  in  sessile,  umbel-like  clusters  on  the  old  wood  and 
appearing  before  the  leaves  ;  acrid  to  the  taste.  Calyx:  red.  Petals:  rosy 
pink;  the  wings  overlapping  or  covering  the  small  standard.  Pods:  small  ; 
shuttle-shaped  ;  winged  along  the  seed-bearing  margin  and  containing  many 
fiat,  puckery-tasting  seeds. 

This  little  tree,  for  we  are  most  accus- 
tomed to  seeing  it  small,  is  handsome  at 
all  seasons  of  the  year  ;  but  it  is  truly  a 
sight  in  the  early  days  of  spring  when  it 
is  radiant  with  its  exquisitely  bright  and 
cheery  blossoms.  So  eager  then  is  the 
tree  to  cover  itself  with  them  that  they 
sometimes  appear  even  upon  its  trunk. 
From  a  distance  many  might  be  allured 
to  its  presence  and  think  they  were 
approaching  a  profusion  of  deeply-tinted 
peach  blossoms,  especially  when  it  grows  in  among  the  haw- 
thorns and  flowering  dogwood.  As  soon  as  the  leaves 
unfold,  however,  their  shape  would  forbid  such  an  error 
and  the  flowers  have  the  papilionaceous  corolla  of   the  senna 


carets  Canadensis. 


114 


TREES  GROWING  IN  MOIST  SOIL. 


family.  The  legumes  are  a  more  yellow  tone  of  green  than 
are  the  leaves  and  add  in  their  turn  touches  of  colour,  like 
high  lights,  throughout  the  tree.  When  given  good  soil  and 
sufficient  room  for  development  it  grows  rapidly  in  cultivation 
and  is  a  charming  acquisition  to  parks  and  gardens;  Its  dark, 
reddish-brown  wood  is  not  strong. 

An  ugly  tradition  that  clusters  about  the  old  world  relative 
of  this  tree  is  that  from  its  branches  Judas  hanged  himself. 


FOUR-WINGED   SNOWDROP  TREE. 
BELL  TREE.     {Plate  LII.) 
Mohrodendron  Carolhium. 


SILVER 


FAMILY 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE 

TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Storax. 

Head,  narroiu:   branches. 

30-90  /eety 

IVest  ya.  to  Illinois 

March,  Aj>ril, 

stout. 

or  a  shrub. 

southward  to  Fla. 
and  Texas. 

Branches  :  reddish  brown  ;  ridged.  Leaves  :  simple  ;  alternate  ;  slender- 
petioled ;  ovate  or  oblong,  with  pointed  apex  and  rounded  or  wedge-shaped 
base;  slightly  serrate;  bright  green  and  glabrous  above,  slightly  pubescent 
underneath;  thin.  FUnvers :  growing  in  loose,  drooping  clusters  along  the 
branches  and  appearing  with  or  before  the  leaves.  Calyx :  short ;  four- 
toothed.  Corolla:  campanulate ;  four-parted.  Sfanietis :  eight  to  sixteen. 
Pistil:  one.  Seed-vessels:  long;  oblong;  four-winged  and  conspicuously 
tipped  with  a  remnant  of  the  style. 

So  few  leaves  and  flowers  are  to 
be  seen  when  these  fair  snowdrops 
cover  the  tree  that  one  is  almost 
inclined  to  look  upon  them  with 
suspicion  and  to  wonder  whether  in 
spite  of  their  unsullied  freshness 
they  have  been  desirous  of  taking  a 
peep  at  the  earth  before  it  was  fully 
clothed.  But  whatever  may  have  been 
their  motives,  it  is  truly  a  joy  to  have 
them  come  forth  so  early  in  the  sea- 
son and  to  feel  that  the  back  of  father 
Winter  is  broken.  When  hung  with 
Mohrcdindron  caronnum.        them   the   trcc    is    a  most  pleasing 


PLATE  Lll.     FOUR-WINGED  SNOWDROP  TREE. 
Mohrodendroii  Carolinian. 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,   BY  FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  IN  MOIST  SOIL.  115 

sight.  Often  we  then  stop  and  wonder  to  find  it  among  the 
hickories  and  buckeyes  :  it  would  seem  as  though  it  should 
find  the  company  of  the  magnolias  and  cherry  trees  more 
congenial.  On  moist,  wooded  slopes,  in  woods  or  nearing  the 
banks  of  streams  it  grows,  and  it  is  hardy  as  far  northward  as 
eastern  Massachusetts.     It  then  however  becomes  a  shrub. 


NARROW=LEAVED  COTTONWOOD.     {Plate  LTII) 
Populus  angustifblia. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Willow.     Pyramidal,   slender.      30-65  yi'f/.      Dakota  westward  and  to        Aj>ril,  May. 

A  rizona  and  New  Mexico. 

Bark:  yellowish  green  and  broken  on  old  trees  into  broad,  flat  ridges. 
Branches:  grey.  Leaves:  simple;  alternate;  with  petioles  that  are  not 
flattened  laterally;  lanceolate,  or  ovate-lanceolate;  pointed  or  blunt  at  the 
apex  and  narrowed  or  rounded  at  the  base  ;  finely  or  coarsely  serrate  ;  yellow- 
green  above,  lighter  below;  the  mid-rib  yellow;  thin.  Staininate  catkins : 
cylindrical.  Pistillate  ones:  from  two  to  four  inches  long.  Capsule:  ovate 
and  surrounded  by  fine  soft  hairs. 

When  the  flower-buds  of  the  poplars  begin  to  swell  and  their 
colour  changes  to  deeper  tints  every  day,  then  we  feel  as 
though  the  sleeping  spring  had  indeed  awaked.  In  fact. many 
mistake  these  early  unfolding  flowers  for  the  first  shimmer  of 
young  foliage.  But  on  both  the  staminate  and  pistillate  trees 
the  catkins  lengthen  and  have  satisfactorily  settled  their  little 
domestic  affairs  some  time  before  the  leaves  burst  from  their 
silver  buds.  And  in  this  hastening  into  bloom  there  is  some- 
thing of  method  to  be  detected.  The  poplars  rely  on  the  wind 
to  carry  their  pollen  from  one  plant  to  another  and  to  facilitate 
its  reaching  them,  the  pistillate  flowers  hang  mostly  near  the 
tips  of  the  branches.  Were  the  trees  fully  clothed  with  foliage 
it  would  greatly  obstruct  the  flying  pollen  and  direct  it  into 
idle  paths. 

When  the  leaves  of  Populus  angustifolia  unfold  their  out- 
line is  rather  a  surprise  and  is  seen  to  resemble  that  of  one  of 
the  broad-leaved  willows.  From  their  buds  exudes  abundant 
balsam.     In  moist  soil  and  along  the  banks  of  streams  of  the 


Capsule.  Seed. 


PLATE   Llll.     NARROW-LEAVED  COTTONWOOD.     Populus  aiigustifolia. 

(uC) 


TREES  GROWING  IN  MOIST  SOIL. 


117 


far  west,  especially  throughout  the  Rocky  Mountains,  this  poplar 
is  the  common  species.     Its  wood  is  light,  soft  and  very  weak. 

AMERICAN  HOLLY.     {Plate  LIV.) 


Ilex  opaca. 


FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT 

Holiy.         Head,  compact;         20-50  yVf/. 
branches,  spreading. 


RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Southern  Maine  along  the  April-June. 

coast  to  Fla.  and  -westward.        Fruit:   Sept. 


Bark:  light  grey;  smooth.  Braiichlets  :  slightly  pubescent.  Leaves:  sim- 
ple; alternate;  elliptical  or  oval,  with  pointed  apex  and  pointed  base;  the 
teeth,  sharp  and  spine-like;  far  apart.  Siniises :  rounded.  Feather-veined, 
the  veins  indistinct  on  the  lower  surface.  Evergreen;  dark  green  and  glossy 
above;  lighter  and  tinged  with  yellow  below  ;  thick;  stiff;  glal)rous.  Floiuers: 
white  ;  both  staminate  and  pistillate  ;  axillary,  and  having  their  parts  in  fours. 
Fruit :  a  bright  red  drupe  which  frequently  remains  on  the  tree  well  into  the 
winter. 

The  associations  of  the  holly  are  all  with  the  season  of 
merry-making  and  the  blazing  log  of  the  yule-tide.  When  in  a 
wild  state  it  needs,  to  bring  out  the  beauty  of  its  bright,  red 
berries  and  thick,  shining  leaves,  the  glistening  white  of  a 
snow-covered  earth  and  the  b:ire,  gaunt 
branches  of  other  trees.  By  contrast  then 
its  freshness  is  very  attractive.  During  the 
dusty,  heated  summer  it  might  readily  be 
passed  by  unseen.  The  American  holly  is 
not  thought  to  be  as  beautiful  as  the  English 
one.  There  are  fewer  berries  to  be  found 
on  it  ;  and  its  leaves  have  not  nearly  so 
high  and  clear  a  lustre.  But  it  is  still  a 
crisp  and  cheery  appearing  tree  and  worthy 
of  a  more  extended  cultivation  than  it 
receives. 

The  wood  of  the  holly  is  almost  white.  It  is  hard  and  fine 
of  grain.  When  made  into  work  tables,  boxes  and  similar  arti- 
cles it  is  very  pretty. 

/.  vionticola^  large-leaved  holly,  bears  a  leaf  which  is  very 
distinctive  from  that  of  I.  opaca.  It  is  ovate-lanceolate,  with  a 
taper-pointed  apex  and  a  finely  serrated  edge.     In  texture  it  is 


Single  floiver. 

PLATE   LIV.     AMERICAN    HOLLY.     Ilex  opaca. 
(ii8) 


PLATE   LV.  THREE-FLOWERtD  THORN.      Cra/ai:i,>   hi/Loa. 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,    BY  FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY 
PRINTED   IN   AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  IN  MOIST  SOIL.  119 

thin  and  not  evergreen.  The  tree  is  rather  tall  and  slender 
and  occasionally  reaches  a  height  of  forty  feet.  Again  it 
occurs  as  a  shrub.  In  May  we  shall  find  it  in  bloom.  By 
many  it  is  well  known  and  sought  for  in  the  damp  woods  of 
the  Catskill  Mountains.  It  extends  southward  along  the 
mountains  to  Pennsylvania  and  to  Alabama. 

THREE=FLOWERED  THORN.     {Plate  LV) 
Cratcegiis  trtjlbra. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

AppU.       Spreading /rem  base.       12-2.0  feci.      Georgia  and  Alabama.  April. 

Bark  0/ branches  :  light  greenish  grey  and  close,  becoming  scaly.  Spines  : 
dark  red;  branched;  numerous  on  the  main  stem.  Ledzvs :  simple;  alternate; 
growing  at  the  ends  of  the  twigs;  ovate  ;  pointed  at  the  apex  and  rounded  at 
the  base  or  tapering  into  a  margin  which  extends  along  each  side  of  the  short 
petiole  ;  irregularly  or  doubly  serrate  ;  bright  dark  green  above  and  pubescent 
when  young,  later  becoming  rough  ;  ])aler  below  and  pubescent.  Flowers  : 
large  ;  growing  in  corymbs  of  mostly  three  flowers  on  jjubescent  petioles,  the 
lateral  ones,  the  longest.  Calyx  :  with  five  lanceolate  fringed  lobes.  Corolla: 
wi:h  five  rosaceous  white  petals.  Stamens:  numerous.  Fruit:  globose; 
brilliant  orange  or  red. 

Crataegus  triflora  is  a  rare  tree  :  one  quite  imbued  with  the 
idea  of  seclusion.  At  the  present  time  it  is  only  known  to 
occur  at  two  stations  ;  along  the  cliffs  of  the  Coosa  River  in 
Georgia  and  near  Birmingham,  Alabama.  Mr.  Beadle,  of  Bilt- 
niore,  who  has  made  an  exhaustive  study  of  the  genus,  has  seen 
it  in  bloom  at  the  former  place  where,  he  says,  there  are  about 
fifty  of  the  trees  ;  and  he  describes  the  effect  they  en  masse 
produce,  when  they  unfold  amid  the  russet  tints  of  early 
spring,  as  very  lovely.  "Individually,"  he  says,  "the  shrub  is 
rather  poor."  At  the  top  its  branches  divide  many  times  and 
the  leaves  appear  to  be  thrust  at  the  ends  of  the  twigs  so  as  to 
form  a  covering  for  their  nakedness.  The  particular  charm  of 
its  flowers  is  that  they  are  large,  and  the  two  side  ones  seem 
to  have  been  quaintly  prolonged  so  as  to  give  a  sort  of  pro- 
tection to  the  one  in  the  middle.  From  the  coloured  plate 
this  feature  and  the  brilliancy  of  the  fruit  can  be  seen. 

It  was  through  the  aid  of  a  glance  into  the  note  book  of  Mr, 


129 


TREES  GROWING  IN  MOIST  SOIL. 


Beadle    and   a   well    dried    specimen    that   the    accompanying 
description  was  written. 

AMERICAN  ELM.     WHITE  ELM.     {Plate  L  VI.) 


FAMILY  SHAPE 

Ebn.       Head^  round,  broad: 
branches,  pendulous. 


Ulmus  Americana. 

HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

100-120  J'eet.     New  Foundland  south-  March,  April. 
7uard  to  Fla.  and  west-  Fruit:   May. 

ward  to  Texas. 


Bark :  ashy  grey  ;  flaky.  Branches :  light  green  when  young  and  without  corky 
ridges.  Buds:  flattened;  smooth,  or  slightly  pubescent.  Stipules:  linear  to 
lanceolate.  Leaves  :  simple  ;  alternate  ;  with  smooth  petioles  ;  oval,  orobovate, 
with  taper-pointed  apex  and  rounded  or  slightly  pointed  base  ;  unequal  sided; 
coarsely  or  doubly  serrate.  Kibs :  straight;  conspicuous;  veins  and  veinlets 
numerous ;  glabrous,  or  slightly  rough  above,  pubescent  underneath  and  be- 
coming smooth  at  maturity.  Flowers  :  dioecious  ;  minute  ;  growing  in  close, 
drooping  clusters  on  jointed  stalks  from  lateral  buds  and  appearing  before  the 
leaves.     Samaras :  oval  or  ovate  ;  glabrous,  with  thickly  fringed  margins. 

The  American  elm  is  very  grace- 
ful and  stately.  Its  great  arching 
limbs  uphold  a  spray  of  dark  and 
beautiful  foliage  which  appears  on 
the  landscape  like  a  suddenly  ar- 
rested fountain.  It  is  not  strange 
that  so  much  sentiment  clings  about 
these  trees  ;  for  at  times  they  have 
been  associated  with  thrilling  events 
in  their  country's  history.  It  was 
under  the  shade  of  a  great  elm  at 
Cambridge,  Mass.,  that  Washington 
stepped  forward,  drew  his  sword, 
and  in  a  few  words  assumed  com- 
mand of  the  American  army.  The 
tree,  after  that  eventful  morning, 
was  known  as  the  "Washington 
Elm  "  ;  and  longer  than  any  other 
being  it  remained  to  testify  to  the  younger  generations  that 
it  had  been  a  witness  of  the  scene.  Although  not  at  all 
a  phenomenal   tree  in  size,  the  estimate  was  at  the  time  made 


ulmus  A  niericana. 


PLATE  LVI.     AMERi 


L l»iiis  ^li/u'/icanij. 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,    BY  FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY. 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  IN  MOIST  SOIL.  121 

that  it  developed  every  year  a  crop  of  seven  millions  of  leaves, 
and  that  they  exposed  to  the  air  a  surface  of  foliage  equal  to 
about  five  acres. 

On  the  banks  of  the  Delaware  there  stood  also  a  famous  elm 
tree.  Under  its  branches  William  Penn  made  his  treaty  with 
the  Indians.  It  was  not  for  lands,  but  for  peace  and  friend- 
ship. On  March  3d,  1810,  "The  Treaty  Tree,"  as  the  elm  was 
called,  was  prostrated  by  a  storm.  Its  consecutive  rings  proved 
it  to  be  over  two  hundred  and  eighty-three  years  old.  On 
its  site  a  monument  with  a  suitable  inscription  was  erected  by 
the  Penn  society. 

The  elms  are  dioecious  ;  their  staminate  and  pistillate  blos- 
soms grow  on  different  trees,  or,  to  use  the  popular  but  erro- 
neous expression,  they  are  male  and  female.  From  each  other 
the  two  can  be  readily  distinguished.  The  bud-scales  of  the 
elms  with  their  fringed  margins  and  tufts  of  soft,  white  hairs 
are  very  pretty.  Very  early  in  the  spring  they  blow  about 
and  often  tint  the  ground  while  the  flowers  that  have  sprung 
from  them  are  unfolding. 

The  wood  of  the  American  elm  is  rather  coarsely  grained, 
hard  and  heavy.  Its  medullary  rays  and  its  large  open  ducts 
are  conspicuous.  For  the  making  of  small  articles,  floors,  and 
in  ship  building,  it  is  very  useful.  The  Indians  occasionally 
substituted  its  bark  for  that  of  birch  when  building  their  canoes. 
It  is  to  be  lamented  that  so  much  damage  is  inflicted  upon 
these  trees  by  insects  and  that  their  beauty  is  thus  often 
marred.  Throughout  New  England,  where  the  elms  have  con- 
tributed so  much  to  the  beauty  of  the  towns,  it  is  quite  pathetic 
to  see  so  many  in  a  dilapidated  condition.  When  planted  the 
tree  requires  soil  where  it  can  imbibe  abundant  moisture,  and 
to  be  away  from  the  shade  of  other  trees.  It  is  very  rapid  of 
growth. 


122  TREES  GROWING  IN  MOIST  SOIL. 

CORKY  WHITE  ELH.     ROCK  ELM.     HICKORY  EL/l. 

{Plate  L  VII.) 
Ulinus  racetnbsa. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Elm.     Heacf^round-topfied;     io-ioo  feet.     New  England  southward  April. 

branches.,  rigid.  and  westward.  E'ruit:  June. 

This  species  of  elm  might  readily  be  mistaken  for  Ulmus 
Americana  as  in  general  characteristics  there  is  much  that  is 
similar  between  the  two.  The  marks  of  distinction,  however, 
are  that  the  young  branches  of  Ulmus  racemosa  are  pubescent, 
and  as  they  grow  older  they  develop  large,  corky  wings.  The 
fringed  bud-scales  are  more  often  than  not  covered  with  a  soft 
down,  and  the  flowers  grow  in  a  raceme.  The  leaves,  too,  have 
many  fine  hairs  on  the  upper  surface  and  are  not  so  noticea- 
bly serrate  as  those  of  Ulmus  Americana.  In  the  autumn  its 
foliage  turns  a  bright  yellow.  The  tree  inhabits  low  grounds 
where  a  heavy,  wet  clay  soil  prevails  ;  or  it  flourishes  in  gravelly 
uplands  and  on  the  high  bluffs  of  rivers.  It  grows  slowly,  and 
its  wood,  although  valuable,  is  threatened  by  extinction.  While 
it  has  been  neglected  by  planters,  the  axe  has  sought  it  with  dili- 
gence. In  the  forests  of  Canada  and  North  America  most  of 
the  large  trees  have  already  been  felled. 

U.  alata,  winged  elm,  Wahoo,  is  a  comparatively  small  tree, 
forty  or  fifty  feet  high,  with  an  open,  round-topped  head  and 
slender  branches,  which  are  mostly  covered  with  corky  ridges. 
The  leaves  are  somewhat  rough  on  the  upper  surface  and 
especially  pubescent  along  the  under  veins.  The  samaras,  also, 
are  pubescent  and  are  densely  fringed  on  their  margins.  In 
wet,  gravelly,  or  dry  soil,  the  tree  is  known  to  grow.  It  in- 
habits the  country  from  Virginia  to  Illinois  and  southward. 

5LIPPERY  ELM.    MOOSE  ELM.    RED  ELM.   {Plate LVIII.) 

Ulmus  fiilva. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Elm.        Head,  broad,  flat:      6o-yo/eet.      Quebec  and  New  England        March,  April. 
branches,  spreading.  southward  and  westward.         Fruit:    May. 

Bark:  reddish  brown;  rough.  Branches:  bright  green  when  young,  and 
turning   to  light  grey;  very  rough,  although  not  having  corky  wings.     Inner 


Enlarged  floiver. 

PLATE   LVII.     CORKY  WHITE  ELM.      Ubmis  racemosa. 
(123) 


124 


TREES  GROWING  IN  MOIST  SOIL. 


bark:  white;  slippery.  Leaf-buds:  large;  round  and  covered  with  a  reddish 
scurf.  Leaves:  simple;  alternate;  with  rough  petioles  about  an  eighth  of  an 
inch  long;  ovate  or  obovate,  with  taper-pointed  apex  and  rounded  or  slightly 
cordate  base.  Coarsely  and  doubly  serrate  ;  rough  and  harsh  on  the  upper  sur- 
face, soft  and  downy  underneath  in  the  angles  of  the  straight  ribs.  Flowers: 
growing  on  short  pedicels  in  globular  clusters  ;  fragrant  when  tilled  Samaras : 
dull  yellow;  semi-orbicular  and  containing  a  round,  flat  seed.  The  margins  of 
the  wings  unfringed ;  glabrous,  excepting  over  the  seed. 

There  is  something  intensely  human  in  the  desire  to  chew, — 
to  chew  the  cud  of  meditation  ;  and  when  in  the  open  country 
one  meets  a  boy  with  a  certain  felicitous  expression  and  wag- 
ging jaws,  it  is  good  evidence  that  somewhere  in  his  rambles 
he  has  met  with  the  slippery  elm  tree.  Should  his  pockets  be 
turned  inside  out  there  would  also  be  a  chance  of  finding  a 
quantity  of  its  fragrant,  inner  bark  stored  away  for  future  dis- 
posal. To  chew  this  gummy,  slippery  substance  is  not,  per- 
haps, the  smallest  item  in  his  enjoyment  as  he  carelessly  breathes 
the  summer  air  or  gazes  at  a  cloudless  sky.  Unfortunately 
this  innate  desire  of  the  boy  is  often  gratified  at  the  tree's  ex- 
pense. In  fact,  it  is  almost  impossible  to  protect  it  from  him, 
when  it  is  cultivated  as  an  ornament  in  parks,  and  its  identity 
is  known.  In  a  more  conventionalized  form  the  inner  bark  is 
sold  by  chemists,  and  its  properties  are  medicinal  and  nutritious. 
The  tree  has  a  fine,  shapely  outline,  and  grows  rapidly.     Its 

dark  reddish  wood  is  strong  and 
durable  and  is  largely  used  for  the 
making  of  posts.  When  green  it 
splits  very  readily. 

U.  campestris,  English  elm,  is  in 
this  country  very  frequently  seen  in 
cultivation  and  has  distinctive  char- 
acteristics which  prevent  its  being 
confused  with  the  native  wild 
species.  Its  branches  are  compar- 
;^^  atively  short  and  grow  in  a  hori- 
zontal or  ascending  line.  This  gives 
iiimus  camp^stru,  it  a  compact,  robust  look  ;  very  dif- 


Enlarged  flower. 

PLATE  LVIII.     SLIPPERY  ELM.      Ulmusfulva. 
(125) 


126  TREES  GROWING  IN  MOIST  SOIL. 

ferent  from  the  graceful,  languorous  droop  of  the  American  elm. 
The  leaves  are  smaller  and  grow  densely  on  the  wingless 
branches.  Their  upper  surfaces,  also,  are  less  rough.  Some- 
times for  weeks  after  those  of  the  native  tree  have  fallen  they 
remain  fresh  on  the  branches.  The  samaras  of  the  English  elm 
are  smooth  and  without  fringed  margins,  and  its  bark  is  very 
dark  and  much  broken.  It  is  not  frequent  that  the  tree  es- 
capes from  cultivation. 

U.  suberbsa,  is  a  variety  of  the  preceding  species  and  has  an 
immense  amount  of  corky  stuff  on  the  branches. 

HACKBERRY.     SUQAR=BERRY.     FALSE  ELM. 

NETTLE=TREE.     {Plate  LIX.) 

Cdtis  occide7itaIis. 

FAMILY               SHAPE  HEIGHT                         RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Elm.           Ro2i7id-topped;  15-50-140 y>^/.        Quebec  southward  and  April,  May. 

branches,  spreading;  westward.  Fruit:  Sept. 
or  pendulous. 

Bark:  silver-grey  or  brown  ;  crumpled;  rough.  Stipules:  linear;  whitish, 
with  a  soft  down.  Leaves:  simple;  alternate;  with  slender,  grooved  petioles; 
ovate,  with  taper-pointed  apex  and  one-sided,  pointed,  rounded  or  cordate 
base;  serrate,  becoming  entire  at  the  base.  Very  variable.  Bright  green; 
glabrous  and  lustrous  above,  paler  underneath  and  sometimes  pubescent  along 
the  ribs.  Flowers:  greenish;  axillary;  the  staminate  ones  clustered;  the 
pistillate  ones  solitary  and  drooping  on  a  peduncle.  Calyx:  five  and  six 
parted.  Stamens:  long.  Fruit:  a  small,  globular  drupe;  purplish  red,  be- 
coming nearly  black  when  ripe,  with  a  thin  pulp;  edible;  sweet. 

It  is  a  very  unusual  sight  to  see  this  tree  or,  sometimes,  shrub 
growing  over  fifty  feet  high,  although  at  times  it  stretches  it- 
self upward  until  it  reaches  one  hundred  and  forty  feet.  Not 
long  ago  one  was  reported  to  measure  one  hundred  and  twenty 
feet  high,  and  five  feet  in  diameter  at  a  distance  of  four  feet 
from  the  ground.  Its  appearance  was  strongly  suggestive  of  a 
very  old  elm.  The  tree  is  admirable  for  the  purpose  of  trans- 
planting and  when  well  developed  is  very  effective.  It  grows 
rapidly  and  displays  great  endurance  against  dry  weather  or  a 
long  drought.  The  leaves  in  the  autumn  turn  a  light  yellow. 
From   its   wood    which  is  coarsely  grained   and   rather  soft   a 


PLATE  LIX.     HACKBERRY.     Celtis  occzdentalzs. 
(127) 


128 


TREES  GROWING  IN  MOIST  SOIL. 


cheap  kind  of  furniture  is  made.     Celtis  is  the  ancient  name  of 
the  Greeks  for  the  lotus. 


RED  nULBERRY.     {Plate  LX) 

Morns  rubra. 


FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT 

Mulberry .     Head,  round,  dense;     I'^-to  feet. 

branches,  spreading. 


RANGE 

Western  Neiv  England, 

soicihiuard  and 

westward. 


TIME  OF  BLOOM 
April,  May. 


Bark:  greyish  brown  ;  rough  and  separating  into  plates.  Leaves:  three  to 
seven  inches  long;  simple;  alternate;  ovate;  approaching  orbicular,  with 
pointed  apex  and  rather  cordate  base;  or  frequently  occurring  with  unequal 
lobes  at  the  sides  when  the  sinuses  are  rounded;  coarsely  serrate;  thin  ;  yellow- 
green  and  rough  on  the  upper  surface  when  young,  becoming  dark  bluish  green 
and  smooth;  j^aler  and  downy  or  smooth  below.  Ribs:  whitish  and  distinct. 
Flowers:  growing  in  axillary,  catkin-like  spikes;  either  dicecious  or  monoecious, 
usually  the  latter.  Fruit :  similar  in  appearance  to  a  long,  wild  blackberry;  red, 
turning  when  ripe  to  a  rich,  dark  purple  ;  edible;  sweet. 

A  homely  barnyard  scene, 
where  chickens  and  pigs  rove 
about  at  will  and  a  lordly  tur- 
key gobbler  exercises  a  sur- 
veillance over  all,  is  hardly 
complete  without  the  shade  of 
a  red  mulberry  tree.  No  doubt 
it  has  been  planted  there  by  the 
farmer  or  his  predecessor  who 
knew  that  its  juicy  fruit  would 
fatten  his  hogs  and  nourish 
well  his  poultry.  The  flavour 
is  a  trifle  insipid,  but  these  ani- 
mals are  not  over  discriminating  and  root  and  scratch  under 
the  tree  when  the  berries  are  falling  until  the  ground  is  often 
stained  to  the  same  deep,  blood  hue.  The  juice  of  thetree 
itself  is  milky.  Horticulturists  have  paid  little  attention  to 
Morus  rubra  as  a  fruit  tree  although  it  would  seem  as  though 
it  had  possibilities  for  a  better  development.  The  tree  is  very 
ornamental.  In  early  summer  the  green  of  its  leaves  is  par- 
ticularly enchanting  and  can  hardly  fail  to  attract  the  attention 


Mdrus  riibra. 


PLATE  LX.     RED  MULBERRY.     Moms  rubra. 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,    B1  FREDERICK  *.  STOKES  COMPANY. 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


PLATE  LXI.     WHITE  MULBERRY.  Moms  alba. 
(129) 


130 


TREES  GROWING  IN  MOIST  SOIL. 


of  those  that  have  an  eye  for  colour.  In  their  composition 
there  is  an  abundance  of  yellow,  and  they  give  an  effect  as 
though  they  were  continually  glowing  with  sunshine. 

The  Indians  of  the  southern  states  have  some  way  of  obtain- 
ing fibres  from  the  tree's  inner  bark,  and    these    they  weave 
into   cloth.     The  wood  is  light  yellow,  soft  and   very  durable 
--^>'^n  when  in  contact  with  the   ground.     It   is 

cj^^'.'^'K^.V-'f         quite  valuable. 
^'^^^^*—  '-■  M-  "^^'^^  ^v'l'te  mulberry,  {Plate  LXI.) 


^^/*iiAf^P^yf^'-''^j^'2  is  a  similar  and  very  familiar  tree  which 


''V  ■ 


is  also  seen  about  old  farmhouses.  It 
has  escaped  from  cultivation.  The  tree 
is  small  and  has  leaves  that  differ  from 
those  of  the  red  mulberry  in  being 
smooth  and  shiny  on  both  sides.  Its 
short,  compact,  staminate  spikes  grow  on 
slender  peduncles.  The  fruit  is  white 
or  slightly  tinted  with  pink  and  has  an 
insipid,  sweetish  flavour.  In  about  1830  the  tree  was  intro- 
duced from  China,  and  in  the  old  world,  as  is  well  known,  its 
leaves  have  for  a  long  time  been  fed  to  silkworms. 


M dries  alba. 


PAPER  MULBERRY.     {Plate  LXII) 

Broussotiitia  papyrifera. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Mulberry.       Low  hranrhing.        ■2o-T,o/eet.       New  York  souihward.  May,  June. 

Fruit:  June,  July. 

Bark  :  light;  fibrous;  rather  smooth.  Leaves  :  simple  ;  alternate  ;  with  long, 
round  petioles;  broadly  ovate,  with  pointed  apex  and  slightly  pointed  or  cor- 
date base,  or  frequently  occurring  with  from  two  to  three  unequal  lobes  when 
the  sinuses  are  rounded  ;  serrate  ;  thick;  the  upper  surface  rough,  like  velvet, 
the  lower  surface  downv.  Flowers  :  dioecious  ;  the  sterile  ones  growing  in 
spike-like  calkins,  the  fertile  ones  in  rounded  heads;  scaly;  bristly.  Fruit: 
fleshy ;  not  edible. 

Very  frequently  about  old  houses  or  in  dilapidated  grave- 
yards we  find  this  tree  which  has  escaped  from  cultivation. 
Its   low-growing  branches   afford   in   such  places   a  desirable 


Flowering  bra  nch , 

PLATE  LXII.     PAPER  MULBERRY.     BroitssoJieiia  papyrifera. 
(131) 


132  TREES  GROWING  IN  MOIST  SOIL. 

shade.  In  Japan,  whence  it  has  been  introduced  into  this 
country,  and  also  in  China,  the  very  fibrous  bark  is  utilized 
to  make  paper  and  this  circumstance  is  responsible  for  its 
English  name.  The  leaves  of  the  tree  might  readily  be  confused 
with  those  of  the  red  mulberry,  but  its  club-shaped  fruit  is 
quite  different  and  is  far  from  being  edible.  The  tree  spreads 
itself  by  suckers. 

BURR  OAK.   MOSSY=CUP  OAK.   OVER=CUP  WHITE  OAK. 

{Plate  LXIII.) 
Qiih'ciis  macrocdrpa. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Beech.  Round-topped,  broad;         60-80-160  Maine  to  Penn.  and  May,  June, 

branches,  spreading.  feet.  westward  to  Montana, 

southzvard  to  Texas. 

Bark  :  brownish  grey  ;  furrowed.  Branchlets  :  marked  with  corky-winged 
ridges.  Leaves:  six  to  fifteen  inches  long;  simple  ;  alternate;  with  thick  pet- 
ioles, flattened  and  enlarged  at  their  bases  ;  obovate  ;  lyrately  pinnatifid,  with 
wedge-shaped  base  and  from  five  to  seven  long,  irregular  lobes  ;  rounded  or 
hollowed  at  their  apexes  ;  entire  or  wavy.  The  sinuse  of  the  middle  lobe 
sometimes  extending  to  within  an  eighth  of  an  inch  of  the  midrib.  Dark  green, 
smooth  and  lustrous  above;  silvery  white  and  downy  underneath.  Staminate 
flowers  :  growing  in  slender  catkins  with  greenish-yellow  stems.  Pistillate  cat- 
kins: s&ssWt.  Acorns  :  very  large;  handsome.  Cu/>:  cup-shaped;  covered  with 
rough,  pointed  scales,  the  upper  row  of  which  terminate  in  long  bristle  i:)oints 
and  form  a  mossy  soft  fringe  about  the  nut;  pubescent  on  the  inner  surface. 
Nut :   on'e  to  one  and  a  half  inches  long;  oval  and  almost  covered  by  the  cup. 

About  this  noble  tree  there  is  the  same  semblance  of  strength 
and  durability  as  is  so  generally  associated  with  the  oaks.  It  is 
one  of  the  largest  of  the  family  of  Eastern  North  America  and 
is  more  widely  distributed  than  any  other,  although  compara- 
tively rare  east  of  the  Alleghanies.  To  various  climatic  condi- 
tions it  shows  much  adaptability.  On  the  prairies  the  "  Oak 
Openings  "  are  mostly  composed  of  the  burr  oak  ;  and  one  that 
has  entered  them  has  said,  "  he  knew  not  whether  he  shuddered 
from  fear  or  delight."  In  the  Mississippi  basin  it  is  commonly 
seen  in  lowland  forests.  As  it  occurs  northward  it  is  interesting 
to  notice  that  the  acorns  become  very  much  smaller,  and  as  the 
length  of  their  fringe  is  proportionately  reduced,  they  cease  to 


PLATE  LXI II.     BURR  OAK.      Qiiernis  viacrocnrpa. 


COPVRIGHT,    1900,    BY  FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  IN  MOIST  SOIL. 


^33 


suggest  the  dainty 
bird's  nests  that 
they  do  in  the 
south.  Hardly  a 
more  beautiful  tree 
can  be  imagined  in 
cultivation  when 
enough  room  has 
been  given  it  to 
follow  its  own  bent 
of  development. 
One  then  looks 
upon  its  great  head 
and  branches  with 
almost  a  feeling  of 
awe. 

As  a  timber  tree 
it  is  excelled  in 
value  by  few  trees 
of  North  America. 
Its  dark  brown 
wood  closely  resembles  and  is 
the  white  oak,    but  it  is  super 


Qzie'rcus  iiiacrocarpa. 


sometimes  confused  with  that  of 
ior  to  it  in  strength. 


PIN  OAK.     WATER  OAK.     SWAHP  SPANISH  OAK. 

{Plate  LXIV.) 
Quircus  palustris. 

FAMILY                       SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE              TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Beech.           Tapering  toivards  the  tp-do  feet^  or  Mass.  southward         May,  June. 

top:  loiver  branches,  higher.  and  westward.      Pruit:  Sept.,  Oct. 
declined. 

Bark:  dark  grey  or  greenish  brown;  rough,  with  furrows  that  are  slight 
and  far  apart ;  the  bark  of  the  branches  often  cracking  and  showing  the  reddish 
inner  bark.  Leaves:  three  to  five  inches  long  ;  simple  ;  alternate;  with  yellow 
petioles  ;  obovate  ;  broad  ;  tapering  or  squared  at  the  base,  and  having  from 
five  to  nine  lobes  which  are  toothed  and  bristle-tipped  at  the  ends.  Sinuses: 
broad  ;  rounded  ;  and  extending  fully  three  quarters  of  the  way  to  the  midrib  ; 
bright   green ;    smooth    and   lustrous  above,    paler    below  and   tufted    in  the 


134 


TREES  GROWING  IN  MOIST  SOIL. 


angles  of  the  ribs  with  reddish  hairs.  Flowers:  monoecious;  the  staminate 
ones  growing  in  slender  catkins;  pistillate  ones  mostly  solitary.  Acorns: 
small;  growing  on  short  stems  or  sessile.  Cup:  flat;  saucer-shaped;  finely 
scaled.  NtU:  light  brown;  rounded;  often  striped  ;  very  broad,  with  a  thin 
shell. 


Quircus  pahistris. 


The  leaves  of  the  pin  oak  strongly  suggest  to  us  in  general 
outline  those  of  the  scarlet  oak,  page  244.     When  we  come  to 

examine  them  closely,  however,  we 
notice  among  other  things  that  they 
are  smaller  and  that  their  sinuses 
extend  nearer  to  the  midrib.  These 
very  differences,  although  they  may 
seem  slight,  do  in  reality  change 
the  whole  aspect  of  the  trees,  and 
give  to  the  pin  oak  a  lighter,  more 
delicate  appearance  which  is  very 
pretty.  When  young  it  is  tapering 
and  symmetrical  in  outline  ;  but 
age  seems  to  distort  it,  and  it  be- 
comes irregular  and  straggling. 
Its  pendulous  branches  mark  it  distinctively.  In  early  spring 
when  the  tree  is  blooming,  its  delicate  maize-coloured  cat- 
kins hang  among  the  tender  green  leaves  and  sway  and  nod 
with  them  most  enchantingly.  In  lowlands  and  guarding  the 
borders  of  streams  the  tree  is  common,  and  it  sometimes  is  found 
extending  its  roots  into  the  river  bed.  In  all  places  the  tree 
has  its  own  peculiar  beauty,  and  it  is  an  excellent  one  for  plant- 
ing. In  the  autumn  its  leaves  turn  a  deep,  rich  red.  Its  wood 
is  coarse  and  not  of  any  great  value.  It  warps  badly  in  drying. 
Galls,  or  oak-apples  as  they  are  sometimes  called,  are  the 
round  excrescences  made  on  the  branches  of  oak  trees  by  gall- 
flies and  their  larvae.  In  some  parts  of  New  Jersey  it  seems  as 
though  they  had  an  especial  preference  for  this  species.  Often  in 
the  spring  before  enough  green  has  been  put  forth  to  cover  the 
bareness  of  winter  it  is  quite  pitiable  to  see  so  many  galls  cling- 
ing to  the  branches  and  destroying  the  appearance  of  really  fine 


^  /  ^1  s 


PLATE  LXIV.     PIN  OAK.     Ortercus palusiris. 
(135) 


136  TREES  GROWING  IN  MOIST  SOIL. 

trees.  "  That  is  a  typical  degenerate,"  is  a  criticism  called 
forth  by  one  poor  tree  that  was  almost  covered  with  them. 
And  it  was  so.  When  broken  open  little  green  worms  are  found 
to  be  inhabitants  of  the  galls,  and  they  seem  to  thrive  amazingly 
well  in  the  porous  substance. 

SWEET  GUM.     BILSTED.     ALLIGATOR  TREE.     STAR- 
LEAVED  GUM.         {Plate  LXV.) 

Liquiddmbar  Styracijlua. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Witch-hazel.     Rounded;  branches,     to-T.i,o/eet.     Conn,  and  southern  April.  May. 

slender.  N.  Y.  southward  and 

•westwa  rd  to  III. 

Bark:  reddish  brown  ;  very  rough.  Branchlets  :  usually  covered  with  corky 
ridges.  Stipules:  lanceolate ;  entire.  Leaves:  simple;  alternate;  with  slen- 
der petioles  ;  rounded  in  outline  ;  cordate  at  the  base  ;  palmately-lobed,  the  lobes 
from  five  to  seven,  usually  five  ;  finely  serrate  ;  brilliant,  smooth  and  lustrous 
above;  ribs  tufted  in  their  angles  below.  Odour:  pleasant,  when  bruised. 
Flowers :  monoecious  ;  the  staminate  ones  growing  in  a  dense  terminal  raceme  ; 
the  pistillate  ones  growing  in  an  a.xillary,  peduncled  head.  Fruit :  a  hanging 
globose  ball  of  woody,  pointed  pods  which  open  and  release  the  few  good  seeds 
contained  within  each  one. 

This  most  beautiful  tree  has  many  distinctive  features.  In 
fact  it  seems  to  have  a  horror  of  doing  things  after  any  conven- 
tional pattern.  Its  ideas  are  most  chaste  and  original.  In  the 
symmetry  of  their  form  and  texture  the  star-like  leaves  are  per- 
fect, and  the  quaint  balls  of  fruit  which  hang  on  the  trees  over 
the  winter  are  most  interesting.  The  tree  is  also  the  only  species 
of  this  country.  In  the  south  it  grows  to  a  greater  height  than  it 
does  northward,  and  its  spicy,  fragrant  gum  exudes  more  abun- 
dantly from  its  bark.  Amber  fluid  is  the  translation  of  the  tree's 
generic  name  which  was  bestowed  on  it  in  reference  to  this 
gum  or  copal.  It  is  quite  valuable  and  is  much  used  as  a  sub- 
stitute for  storax.  The  leaves  contain  tannin.  Every  year  we 
notice  that  this  tree  is  being  more  extensively  planted,  and  in 
beauty  of  outline  and  detail  it  might  almost  be  said  to  be  unri- 
valled. As  soon  as  the  summer  has  begun  to  wane  the  leaves 
turn  a   brilliant,    deep   crimson.     There   is   a  shining   bright- 


PLATE  LXV.     SWEET  GUM.     Liquidambar  StvnuiJIua. 

COPYRcGHT,    1900,    BY  FREDERICK  *.  STOKES  COMPANY. 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


Siaminate  flower. 

PLATE  LXVI.     CORAL  SUMAC.     Rhus  Metopiiim. 

(137) 


138  TREES  GROWING  IN  MOIST  SOIL. 

ness  about  these  leaves,  and  when  a  spray  of  them  is  gathered 
they  bear  well  a  close  inspection  ;  for  they  are  not  defaced  or 
worm-eaten  as  is  so  much  of  the  autumn  foliage.  In  fact  insects 
are  very  shy  of  the  tree,  and  borers  inflict  no  damage  on  the 
wood.  The  brownish-red  wood  of  the  sweet  gum  is  smooth  and 
has  a  fine  finish.  It  is  not  very  strong  and  in  drying  warps  badly. 
It  has,  however,  been  used  as  a  substitute  for  black  walnut. 

CORAL  SUriAC.     POISON  WOOD.     HOG  GUM. 

{Plate  LXVI.) 
Rhiis  Met  opium. 


FAMILY 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE 

TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Sumac. 

Head,  broad:  branches^ 
spreading  or  pendulous. 

■20-1,0  feet. 

Florida  and 
Florida  Keys. 

April-Ju7ie. 

Bark:  reddish  brown;  sepnrating  into  thin  plate-like  scales.  Inner  bark : 
orange.  Branchlets:  with  many  deep,  orange-coloured  excresences.  Leaves: 
compound;  alternate;  growing  near  the  end  of  the  branches,  with  petioles  that 
are  enlarged  at  their  bases ;  odd-pinnate,  with  usually  five  ovate  leaflets  rounded 
at  the  apex,  and  rounded,  squared  or  wedge-shaped  at  the  base;  entire;  thick; 
glabrous  on  both  sides;  olive-green  above,  paler  below,  the  terminal  leaflet 
sometimes  longer  than  the  others.  Flowers:  dicEcious;  growing  in  long 
axillary,  erect  panicles.  Fruit:  many  deep  orange-coloured  drupes  about  half 
ai^  inch  long;  obovate;  glabrous;  poisonous. 

About  the  southern  keys  and  along  the  shores  of  Bay  Bis- 
cayne  in  southern  Florida  the  coral  sumac  is  common.  It  is 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  all  the  smaller  trees.  In  colour 
its  young  bark  is  exquisite  and  suggests  the  mellow  tones  of 
deeply  tinted  copper.  Even  though  it  is  so  fair,  however, 
confidence  in  it  is  sadly  misplaced.  The  breath  exhaled  by  the 
dainty  flowers  is  very  poisonous,  and  its  juices  produce  the 
same  symptoms  of  illness  as  do  those  of  Rhus  toxicodendron, 
poison  ivy.  From  incisions  made  in  its  bark  an  emetic  and 
resinous  gum  is  obtained  which  has  some  commercial  value. 

The  wood  of  the  tree  is  not  much  used  for  it  is  rather  weak. 
In  colour  it  is  dark  brown  and  is  very  effectively  lined  with  red. 


r 

Flower  stripped  of  envelope. 

PLATE  LXVll.     WESTERN  LOCUST.     Robittia  Neo-Mexicana. 
(139) 


I40  TREES  GROWING  IN  MOIST  SOIL. 

WESTERN  LOCUST.     {Plate  LXV II) 

Robinia  Nco-Mexicana. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Pea.  Spreading;.  \.--i-jJi:et.       Colorado  to  Aiew  Mexico  Alay. 

and  ivcst'ivard. 

Bark:  light  brown;  rough  and  scaly.  Stipjtles  :  developing  later  into  spines. 
Leaves  :  compound;  alternate;  with  long  pubescent  petioles  and  having  from 
tilteen  to  twenty-one  leaflets;  oblong-elliptical,  rounded  or  pointed  at  the  apex 
and  rounded  at  the  base;  entire;  bluish  green  and  glabrous  above,  slightly 
pubescent  on  the  lower  si.es  of  the  veins  and  midrib.  Floxvers  :  rose  colour; 
or  nearly  white,  growing  in  short,  compact  racemes.  Calyx:  hairy.  Corolla: 
papilionaceous,  the  standard  low  and  broad.  Legiwies :  linear;  curving; 
pointed  at  the  lower  end  and  covered  with  bristly  hairs.     Seeds :  dark  brown. 

There  is  something  particularly  distinct  and  beautiful  about 
all  of  the  locusts  ;  and  if  we  have  followed  only  one  of  them  in 
its  course  of  development  from  the  early  swelling  of  its  buds  to 
the  change  and  oxidation  of  its  leaves  in  the  autumn,  it  is  only 
reasonable  to  feel  ourselves  somewhat  in  harmony  with  the 
whole  genus.  It  then  becomes  a  matter  of  intense  interest  to 
note  the  smallest  variation  in  flower  or  foliage  or  fruit  that 
aids  to  distinguish  one  species  from  another. 

In  Colorado  only,  does  Robinia  Neo  -Mexicana  become  a  tree  ; 
in  other  places  it  occurs  as  a  shrub.  Through  cultivation  it  is 
becoming  familiar,  and  it  is  quite  hardy  in  New  England.  Time 
however  is  required  for  it  to  regard  the  nearness  of  man  with 
fearlessness.  Its  instincts  warn  it,  like  those  of  the  savage,  to 
be  on  the  defensive.  We  notice  therefore  that  it  is  most 
abundantly  supplied  with  sharp  spines.  Along  the  banks  of 
wild  mountain  streams  in  its  natural  habitat  these  were  its 
faithful  weapons  and  protected  its  buds  and  bark  from  the 
ravages  of  small  animals, 

AMERICAN  MOUNTAIN  ASH.     ROWAN  TREE. 
AMERICAN  SERVICE  TREE.     {Plate  LXVIII.) 

Sdrbus  Americana. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Afple.      Almost  pyramidal.,      zo-^o/eet.      Neiv  Foitndland  westward         May.,  June, 
slender.  and  southward  along  the  Fruit:    Sept. 

A  lleghanies. 

^rt'^  :  dull  brown;  almost  smooth;  odour,  astringent.  Leaves:  compound; 
alternate;  odd-pinnate;  with  red, grooved  stalks  and  from  nine  to  seventeen 


PLATE   LXVI II.     AMERICAN    MOUNTAIN   ASH.     .Vrvv.vy  _ /. 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,   Br  FREDERICK  *.  STOKES  COMPANr 
PRfNTED  IN  AMERICA. 


TREES  (GROWING  IN  MOIST  SOIL.  141 

almost  sessile,  long  ovate  or  lanceolate  ieatlets,  taper-pointed  at  the  apex  and 
pointed  or  rounded  at  the  base.  Finely  serrate;  bright  green  above;  paler 
below  and  glabrous  on  both  sides.  /'Ycrac'rs  :  small;  white;  growing  in  large 
flat  cymes,  as  many  as  a  hundred  blossoms  in  some  clusters.  Fruit :  bright 
red  scarlet  berries  about  the  size  of  large  peas  with  a  black  spot  at  the  apex. 

It  is  not  only  i'.i  the  spring-  that  there  is  so  much  of  beauty 
about  the  trees  ;  although  they  then  seem  to  be  having  their 
revel  of  mirth  and  lavishness.  The  autumn,  with  its  line  of 
purple  in  the  sky,  its  many  tinted  mountains  and  hills,  its 
richly-coloured  fruits  that  are  busy  scattering  their  seeds, 
so  beautifully  fulfils  the  promises  of  early  spring  that  there 
seems  to  be  about  it  an  even  greater  charm.  lUit  there  is  a 
note  of  sadness  in  the  autumn,  for  it  sings  that  the  summer  is 
past.  Grim  Winter  is  on  his  way,  and  who  v/ould  stay  his 
unerring  step  as  he  returns  to  reclaim  his  own  ?  At  this  season 
of  the  year  the  berries  of  the  mountain  ash  are  cheerful  things 
to  look  upon.  Their  shower  of  scarlet  is  abundant,  and  they 
remain  on  the  trees  for  a  long  time.  In  cultivation  the  tree  is 
now  so  frequent  and  familiar  that  it  is  almost  a  surprise  to 
meet  it  in  its  natural  habitat.  It  then  grows  in  low  or  moist 
ground  ;  sometimes  even  in  swamps  and  cold  mountain  woods. 
An  identical  form  of  the  tree  occurs  in  Japan. 

S.  sainbiicifoUa,  Western  mountain  ash,  or  elder-leaved 
mountain  ash,  has  broader  and  shorter  leaflets  than  those  of 
Sorbus  Americana  which  are  doubly  toothed  and  have  blunt 
points.     It  also  grows  in  moist  soil. 

S.  aniiiparia,  Rowan  tree  or  European  mountain  ash,  differs 
again  in  having  leaves  that  are  pubescent  on  both  sides,  espe- 
cially so  when  young.  The  calyx  of  its  flowers  and  the  pedicels 
are  woolly. 

Rowan  tree  as  it  is  generally  called  is  reported  to  have 
escaped  from  cultivation  on  Prince  Edward  Island.  Just  how 
it  did  so  is  not  related  ;  but  it  probably  hoodwinked  the 
officials  or  tossed  a  sleeping  draught  to  the  gate  keepers,  for  it 
has  a  long  established  reputation  for  witchcraft  and  the  power 
to  dispel  evil  spirits. 


142 


TREES  GROWING  Ix\  MOIST  SOIL. 


BILTHORE  ASH.     {Plate  LXIX.) 
Fraxmits  Bilt  more  aim. 


FAMILY 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE 

TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Olive. 

Head,  open;  branches^ 
spreading. 

30-100  yV'f/. 

Ga.  to  I  'rt.,  Tenn. 
and  Ala. 

April-June. 

U/i/'er  dark:  light  bluish  grey.  T^uigs :  stout;  velvety.  Buds:  dark 
brown.  Leaves:  two  to  three  inches  long;  compound;  opposite;  with  dark, 
jiubescent  petioles;  with  from  seven  to  nine  oval,  ovate  or  oblong-lanceolate, 
leaflets  pointed  at  the  apex  and  pointed  or  rounded  at  the  base;  entire  or 
remotely  dentate;  soft  light  green  and  glabrous  above,  lighter  and  velvety 
below.  ' Santa >as :  large,  growing  three  to  five  inches  long  in  dense  panicles; 
the  wing  many  nerved  and  slightly  lobed  at  the  apex.     Seeds  :  elliptical. 

Among  the  ashes  there  is  hardly  one  more  graceful  or  with 

foliage  of  a  inore  sunny,  ex- 
quisite green  than  that  of  the 
Biltmore  ash.  It  is  light  and 
restless,  and  after  it  has  faded 
and  fallen  the  tree  looks  as 
though  it  missed  it  sadly  ;  but  the 
seed  pods  which  have  then  turned 
to  a  dull  tan  colour  still  cling  to 
the  tree  and  for  a  long  time 
hang  in  great  bunches  upon  its 
boughs  as  though  to  cheer  it  for 
its  loss. 

The  tree  received  its  name 
from  Mr.  Beadle  who  so  christ- 
ened it  because  it  is  the  common 
species  on  the  Biltmore  estate. 
It  there  grows  abundantly  along  the  French-Broad  and 
Swanona  Rivers.  In  general  appearance  the  tree  suggests  the 
white  ash,  Fraxinus  Americana,  more  than  any  other,  although 
it  may  be  distinguished  from  it  by  the  pubescence  of  its  twigs 
and  petioles.  Occasionally  it  grows  to  the  height  of  a  hundred 
feet,  but  when  it  occurs  in  drier  soil  and  among  the  mountains 
it  is  generally  small. 


Fraxinus  Biltiuoreana. 


TlAiC     l/>ia.        DiuiiViwKt    h\Or\.         l    /  u.k  l  li  il.^    hi  i  i  tlii' t  iiDUl. 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,    BY   FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA, 


PLATE  LXX.     WESTERN  BLADDER-NUT.     Staphylca  nolanderi. 


144  TREES  GROWING  IN  MOIST  SOIL. 

WESTERN  BLADDER=NUT.     {Plate  LXX) 
Staphylea  Boldnderi. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Staff-tree.       Erect:  branches.        About  yb/eet.        ''^Pacific /orestsy  April. 

stout.  Fruit:  July. 

Branches:  reddish  brown,  the  new  growth  light  yellow  or  green.  Leaves: 
compound  ;  opposite  ;  three-foliate  ;  with  long  petioles  ;  the  leaflets  broadly 
oval ;  abruptly  pointed  at  the  apex,  and  jjointecl  or  blunt  at  the  base  ;  serrate; 
glabrous.  Flowers:  greenish  white;  perfect  ;  regular,  and  growing  in  drooping, 
terminal  panicles.  Sefa/s  :  five.  Pela/s  :  five.  Slawens  :  five;  exsevted.  Pis- 
til: one,  with  three  styles.  Fruit:  large  ;  bladder-like,  and  containng  from  one 
to  four  flattened  seed  in  each  cell. 

To  follow  the  woods  and  streams  with  eyes  alert  to  all  that 
is  growing  is  to  live  upon  the  brink  of  discovery,  and  when  a 
rare  or  unknown  plant  is  found  there  is  a  certain  dread  and  ex- 
citement lest  one  may  have  been  deceived,  and  a  fear  that  the 
illusion  will  be  shattered  by  sonie  one  pointing  out  that  it  has 
been  known  and  written  about  in  ages  past. 

The  specific  name  of  the  western  bladder-nut  commemorates 
the  collector  who  first  discovered  it  growing  at  McCloud's 
Fork  of  the  Sacramento  River.  It  is  one  of  the  rarest  shrubs  of 
the  Pacific  coast  ;  and  it  is  not  thought  that  it  has  been  intro- 
duced into  cultivation.  Even  more  interesting  than  the  fine 
delicate  flowers  are  the  curious  bladder-like  seed  vessels.  That 
they  have  sprung  from  things  so  small  seems  indeed  a  mystery. 

ELDER.     {Plate  LXXL) 
Sajnbiicits  Canadensis  7'ar.  Mexicdna. 


FAMILY 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE 

TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Honeysuckle. 

Round-topped, 
compact. 

10-30  yVv'/. 

Western  Texas  to 
California. 

March-July. 

Bark:  brownish  red  ;  broken  in  horizontal  ridges.  Leaves :  compound  ;  op- 
posite ;  odd-pinnate  ;  with  pubescent  stalks  and  five  ovate-lanceolate  leaflets, 
pointed  at  the  apex  and  wedge-shaped  at  the  base;  sharply  serrate,  and  be- 
c  uning  entire  at  the  base  ;  yellow-green  ;  thick  ;  pubescent  along  the  veins. 
Flowers:  white;  minute  ;  growing  in  large,  flat  cymes.  Fruit :  a  blue-black 
diupe  ;  juicy,  and  having  no  bloom. 

There  are,  perhaps,  few  that  are  not  familiar  with  the  com- 
mon elder,  the  shrub  about  which  cluster  so  many  old  tradi- 
tions.    In  western  Texas,  and  extending  to  California,  the  vari- 


PLATE  LXXI.     ELDER.     Sainbucus  Canadensis  var.  Mexi  ana 
(145) 


146  TREES  GROWING  IN  MOIST  SOIL. 

ety  called  Mexicana  differs  from  it  in  becoming  arborescent  in 
its  habit.  It  is  a  very  ornamental  tree,  free  from  objectional 
features,  and  about  houses  it  is  much  planted  for  shade.  Its  fine 
light  foliage  makes  it  desirable  for  the  purpose.  The  Indians 
and  Mexicans  assiduously  gather  its  fruit  every  year  and  have 
many  ways  of  preparing  it  as  food,  which,  it  is  said,  they  keenly 
relish. 

S.  Canadensis,  sweet  elder  or  elderberry,  is  a  well  known 
woody  shrub,  which  commonly  grows  from  five  to  ten  feet 
high.  Its  flowers  and  cymes  of  deep  purple  fruit  are  possessed 
of  medicinal  properties.  The  leaves  when  crushed  emit  a 
heavy  scent. 

SWEET  BUCKEYE.     BIG  BUCKEYE.     YELLOW 

BUCKEYE.     (I^/ate  LXXII) 

^ilsculus  octdndra. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Soap-berry.       Compact;    bruKches^     ^o-<jo/eet.     Along  the  Alleghanies  April-J une. 

slightly  pendulous.  to  Gii.  ^vestward  to  lozva. 

Bar/c  :  dark  brown  ;  sei^arating  irto  thin  pieces.  Branchlets :  orange-brown 
when  young.  Leaves  :  pahiiatelv-compound  ;  opposite,  with  usually  five  or  some- 
times seven  hjng,  oval,  or  elliptical  leaflets,  taper-pointed  at  the  apex  and  base; 
sharply  serrate;  glabrous  above  and  pubescent  along  the  ribs  undenieaih. 
Flowers:  pale  yellow;  growing  on  short  pedicels  in  close  panicles.  Calyx: 
oblong;  with  five  points.  Corolla  :  with  five  petals,  the  lateral  ones  long,  nar- 
row at  the  ends  and  rounded.  Slamet/s :  shorter  than  the  petals.  Fruit :  a 
round,  green  husk  ;  uneven  on  the  surface,  but  without  prickles  and  enclosing 
one  or  two  large  brown  nuts. 

In  the  outline  of  the  buckeyes  there  is  something  particularly 
compact  and  well-regulated,  and  their  symmetrical  leaves 
cling  together  as  though  to  shut  out  the  intrusion  of  other  idea£ 
than  their  own.  We  can  hardly  fancy  the  boughs  of  these 
trees  waving  poetically  ;  they  are  much  too  conventional.  The 
leaflets,  as  can  be  seen  from  a  comparison  of  the  illustrations, 
are  very  differently  shaped  from  those  of  the  horse-chestnut, 
which  is  an  introduced  tree.  The  sweet  buckeye  is  so  named 
because  the  odour  of  the  meat  of  its  nut  is  not  peculiar  like 
that  of  others  of  the  genus,     It  is  a  handsome  and  shapely  tree, 


PLATE  LXXII.     SWEET  BUCKEYE.     Aescu/us  octandra. 


COPrRIGHT,    1900,    BY  FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANIT 
PRINTED  IN  AMEBIC*. 


TREES  GROWING  IN  MOIST  SOIL. 


147 


and  appears  well  in  cultivation. 
In  the  early  spring  when  it  is 
covered  with  its  yellow  flowers 
it  seems  to  have  suddenly  be- 
come quite  frivolous.  In  the 
southwest  the  tree  is  hardly  more 
than  a  shrub.  Its  wood  is  creamy 
white,  strong,  and  difficult  to 
split. 

A.  octandra  /lybnda,  purple 
sweet  buckeye,  is  readily  dis- 
tinguished from  the  preceding 
species  in  its  season  of  bloom, 
as  its  flowers  are  purple  or  dull 
red.     The   leaves,   also,  are    very  Ascutus octandra. 

downy  on  their  under  surface,  and  the  bark  of  the  tree  islightei 
in  colour. 


OHIO  BUCKEYE. 


FETID  BUCKEYE.     {Plate  LX XIII.) 

^senilis  glabra . 


FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Soap-berry.     Spreading:  branches,     iS-^S /^eef,  or     Aion^  tie  A  Ueghunies        May. 

slender.  hi^lu-r.  to  Ala.  and  westward.  Fruit:  Oct. 


Bark  :  grey  ;  furrowed  and  separating  into  lliin  scales  ;  odour,  disagreeable. 
Leaves:  palmately-compound ;  opposite;  with  slentler  petioles  and  five  or  seven 
long  oval  leaflets,  taper-])ointed  at  the  apex  and  base  ;  unequally  serrate;  yel- 
lowish green  above,  paler  below;  almost  glabrous  at  maturity.  Flowers:  not 
showy;  pale  yellow  green  ;  growing  in  a  short  panicle;  pubescent.  Corolla: 
with  four  erect  and  rather  uniform  petals  having  claws.  Fruit:  two  smooth 
nuts,  enclosed  in  a  green  round  husk  with  prickles  when  young. 

Although  this  is  not  a  cotnmon  tree  it  has  grown  so  exten- 
sively in  Ohio  that  the  name  "the  Buckeye  State  "  has  been 
the  outcome.  It  is  also  hardy  in  New  England.  In  low,  moist 
ground  and  river  bottom  lands  it  finds  its  natural  ha'nitat.  For 
almost  every   contrivance  of    man    it   seems  as    though  there 


Enlarged  J!oii.'fr. 

PLATE  LXXIII.     OHIO  BUCKEYE.     jEsculus glabra. 
(148J 


TREES  GROWING  IN  MOIST  SOIL. 


149 


>  «s. 


were  a  tree  which  bore  the 
necessary  and  best  adapted 
wood.  Such  is  the  provision 
and  forethought  of  nature. 
The  wood  of  the  genus  ,-Escu- 
lus  is  better  than  any  other  for 
the  making  of  artificial  limbs. 
A.  Calif oniica,  the  California 
buckeye,  is  usually  a  small 
tree.  The  accompanying  dia- 
gram was  taken  from  a  speci- 
men that  had  attained  a  great  size  and  rounded,  compact  pro- 
jiortions.     It  bears  five  leaflets  that  are  slender  stalked. 


ii 


^'^^ 


^sculus  Cali/ornica. 


Trees  Preferring   to  Grow  in    Rich  Soil: 
Forests  and  Thickets. 


//  2i'as  tiviligJit  in  the  denser  ivoods, 

All  the  birds  Jiad ceased  to  sing. 
And  a  ivondrous  stillness  filled  the  air 

As  each  vine  did  closer  cling. 

Not  a  leaf  zvas  stirred  on  all  the  trees, 
'  Tivas  as  though  their  trunks  ivcrc  stone. 

On  the  sultry  air  all  there  seemed  carved ; 
Too  heavy  and  sad  to  moan. 

Had  the  earth  Just  rung  for  evetiing prayer. 
The  tivilight  breeze  lulled  to  sleep  ? 

Or  zvas  it  a  painting,  where  all  is  dead, 
And  shadows  are  long  and  deep  ? 

No  voice  came  the  question  to  anszvcr, 

Nor  sign  from  the  cloudless  sky  ; 
'  Till  frightened  perhaps  by  the  calmness. 

Sailed  high  a  ivhitc  butterfly. 

CUCUMBER  TREE.  MOUNTAIN  MAGNOLIA. 

{Plate  LXXJV:) 
]\[agnblta  acu/iu'nafa. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Magnolia.      Pyramidal^  slender.      6o-c)o/eet.         Soutliert!  A'A'.  sciith-         A pi-ii-J une. 

iv.ird  andwcstivard. 

Bark  :  AtkxV;  rough.  Branchlets :  pubescent.  Leaf-luids :  silkv;  pubescent. 
Leaves:  simple  ;  alternate;  petioled  and  scattered  along  the  branches  ;  oblong, 
pointed  at  the  apex  and  rounded  at  the  base.     Dark  green  above,  lighter  below 


PLATE  LXXIV.     CUCUMBER  TREE.     Magnoliaacumiiiala. 
(15') 


152  TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL. 

and  pubescent.  Flowers  :  three  to  six  inches  in  diameter  ;  terminal ;  solitary. 
Calyx:  reflexed.  Corolla:  pale  greenish  yellow;  fragrant,  with  six  large  obo- 
vate,  narrow  pointed  petals.  Fruit:  large;  ovate  ;  glabrous  ;  becoming  rose 
coloured  when  ripe.  Seeds :  orange-red  and  hanging  when  released  from  the 
pods  by  fine  white  filaments. 

When  we  wander  through  a  strip  of  woodland  where  the  soil 
is  rich  and  the  atmosphere  feels  as  though  it  were  a  shroud  of 
humid  vapour,  we  may  look  about  among  the  white  ash,  the 
white  oak  and  the  sugar  maples  for  the  fragrant  bloom  of  Mag- 
nolia acuminata.  But  it  is  generally  a  rare  find,  and  it  is  not 
sufficiently  common  to  be  much  associated  with  the  forests.  Its 
growth  is  most  luxurious  in  the  valleys  at  the  bases  of  the 
mountains  of  North  Carolina  and  Tennessee.  At  all  seasons 
of  the  year  it  is  a  notable  tree,  although  it  can  not  be  com- 
pared to  the  great-fiowered  magnolia,  which  has,  however, 
attained  so  leading  a  place  in  beauty's  ranks  that  it  is  per- 
haps unjust  to  use  it  as  a  standard  for  others.  The  resemblance 
of  the  tree's  fruit  when  green  to  a  small  cucumber  is  responsi- 
ble for  its  English  name.  Magnolia  acuminata  has  been  used 
with  much  success  as  a  stock  on  which  to  graft  Magnolia  Vir- 
ginia and  the  magnolias  of  Eastern  Asia.  They  then  grow 
more  freely  than  when  left  entirely  dependent  upon  themselves. 
The  wood  of  the  tree  has  been  used  in  cabinet  work  ;  but  gen- 
erally speaking  that  of  the  whole  genus,  excepting  Magnolia 
foetida^  is  too  soft  and  spongy  to  be  of  any  great  value. 

M.  cordata,  yellow  cucumber  tree,  is  a  variety  of  this  species 
which  is  widely  cultivated.  It  is  hardy  as  far  northward  as 
Boston.  A  most  beautiful  effect  is  produced  by  it  when  its 
lemon-coloured  flowers  are  pushing  out  of  the  buds. 

SMOOTH  AZALEA.     TREE  AZALEA.     {Plate  LXXV.) 
Azalea  arbordscens. 


FAMILY 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE 

TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Heath. 

Rounded. 

Z-2o/eet. 

Southern  Penn.  to 
North  Carolina. 

June,  July. 

Bark:  dark,  tinged  with  red.  Leaves:  simple;  alternate;  petioled  ;  obo- 
vate,  acute  at  both  ends,  with  entire  margins  which  are  delicately  fringed. 
Bright  green  and  lustrous  above,  paler  and  glaucous  underneath  ;  in  drying 
fragrant.     Flowers:  rose  coloured  or  white;  very  fragrant;  growing  in  terminal 


PLATL    Laa. 


AZALEA.     A.:dUii  an. 


COPYRIGHT,    J900,    BY   FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY 
PRINTED  IN   AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL.  153 

clusters  and  appearing  after  the  leaves.  Calyx :  five-lobed ;  conspicuous. 
Corolla :  funnel-form  with  five  somewhat  irregular  lobes ;  viscid.  Statnens: 
red;  five;  protruding.  Pistil:  one  with  a  red  style;  protruding.  CapsziUs: 
oblong. 

Such  a  wealth  of  beauty  and  fragrance  is  shed  about  by  this 

lovely  azalea  in  its  season  of  bloom  that  its  presence  is  hailed 

by  every  breeze  that  blows.     Often  when  a  strip  of  woodland 

is  entered,  and  the  dark  trees  cling  together  as  though  to  shut 

out  the  light  of  day,  the  perfume  laden   air  bespeaks  that  by 

following  its  guidance   the  azalea  is  to  be  found.     Steps  are 

taken  and  the  fragrance  becomes  stronger.     Then  as  a  burst  of 

rosy  light  the  blossoms  reveal  themselves.     Thousands  of  bees 

hum  about  them  and  guard  the  tree    from  hands   that  would 

carry  its  treasures  away.     Between  this  tree  and  the  beautiful 

'sX^xwhs  Azalea  %'iscosad,w^  Azalea  nndiflora  there  is  much  that  is 

similar,  although  they  never  become  arborescent  in  their  habit. 

Our  familiarity  with  them,  however,  will  help  us  to  appreciate 

this    most   charming   relative    of    the  south.     It  has  appealed 

strongly  to  horticulturists,  and  is  much  seen  in  greenhouses. 

AflERICAN  LINDEN.      BASSWOOD.     WHITEWOOD. 

WHI5TLE=W00D.     {Plate  LXXVJ) 

Tilia  Ainerieana. 


FAMII  Y 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE 

TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Linden. 

Rounded,  taperins; 
io-Miird  the  suininit. 

60-80- 1 20 /"fc/. 

North-Miird  and  souiJt- 

ward  to  Virginia  and 

ivestivn  rd. 

May,  June. 

Bark :  dark  brown  deeply  ridged  vertically,  and  separating  into  thin  scales. 
Branches:  light  grey  or  brown,  terminating  in  green.  Leaves  :  four  to  five  inches 
long;  simple;  alternate;  slender-petioled  ;  rounded  in  outline  with  abruptly 
and  conspicuously  ]5ointed  apex  and  cordate  base  ;  one  side  of  the  leaf  gener- 
ally less  developed  than  the  other;  sharply  and  irregularly  toothed  ;  dark 
green,  smo(Jth  and  glossy  above;  pubescent  underneath,  and  esi)ecially  so  in  the 
angles  of  the  light  coloured  and  prominent  ribs.  Floicers :  cream  colour  ;  fra- 
grant ;  growing  under  the  leaves  in  a  cvme  on  a  long,  slender  i^eduncle  that 
hangs  from  the  centre  of  the  midrib  of  a  leaf-like  axillary  bract  which  is  ajJi^le- 
green,  lanceolate  and  smooth.  Se/'als  :  five  ;  ]5ubescent.  Petals :  five.  Stamens: 
numerous,  and  adhering  in  clusters  of  five  to  a  petal-like  scale  before  each 
petal.  Fruit :  greenish  grey;  round  ;  downy,  and  resembling  small  jieas  when 
young;  the  style  and  five-toothed  stigma  projecting  from  its  top.     Seeds:  ten. 

A  bright  but  unfortunately  unknown  poet  has  said  that  "  the 

loveliest  rose  in  the  world  is  opportunity."     And  it  is  opportu- 


IS4 


TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH   SOIL. 


nity  which  we  must  court  when  studying  the  trees.     Usually  it  is 

a   mistake    to   pass  one  by, 


especially  when  it  is  in 
bloom,  with  the  thought 
that  we  will  study  it  when 
later  we  return.  Later  our 
path  may  lead  us  into  unex- 
pected places,  where  we 
shall  find  ourselves  en- 
grossed by  other  things  ; 
and  when,  perchance,  we 
do  return  to  the  tree  that 
we  have  borne  in  mind,  we 
see  that  its  blossoms  have 
perished  and  a  new  order  of 
things  is  in  progress. 

Either  in  bloom  or  in  fruit 
the  American  linden  is  an 
interesting  study.  It  ap- 
pears to  be  hung  with  two 
distinct  sh:ules  of  green;  the  dark  green  of  its  leaves  and  the 
shimmering,  light  apple-green  of  its  curious  bracts.  The 
daint}^,  little  blossoms  fall  early  in  the  season,  and  their  place 
is  taken  by  many  precise,  pert-looking  balls  of  fruit.  They 
nod  and  sway  with  the  breezes  for  a  long  time.  Finalh',  the 
bracts  lose  their  colour,  become  scale-like  and  gradually  fall. 
The  carpet  they  then  spread  under  the  trees  and  the  out-flying 
ones  are  all  that  remain  in  the  autumn  to  testify  that  anything 
unusual  has  occurred. 

The  wood  of  Tilia  Americana  is  brownish  red  and  soft.  It 
is  free  from  blemishes  and  knots,  and  is,  therefore,  desirable 
to  use  for  the  panelling  of  carriages.  Much  care  is  necessary 
when  manipulating  it,  as  it  has  a  tendency  to  crack  badly.  The 
inner  bark   is  extremely  tough,  from  it  coarse  rope  and 

mats  are  made. 


Tilia  A  tnericana. 


PLATE   LXXVI.     AMERICAN   LINDEN.      Tiiia  Aiinruaiia. 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,    BY   FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


1S6  TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL. 

T.  Jieterophylhi^  {Plate  LXXVIl),  white  basswood,  linden  bee- 
tree  or  Wahoo,  differs  from  the  foregoing  species  in  having 
larger  leaves  which  are  covered  underneath  with  a  silvery  white 
down  and  through  which  show  purple  ribs.  This  delicate  fea- 
ture adds  much  to  the  beauty  of  the  leaf.  The  height  of  the  tree 
is  from  about  fifty  to  sixty  feet.  It  inhabits  the  mountains  of 
Pennsylvania  and  occurs  southward  to  Florida  and  westward  to 
Illinois.  Recently  it  has  been  found  in  Central  New  York.  On 
the  slopes  of  the  mountains  in  Tennessee  it  is  seen  in  a  great 
state  of  development.  It  is  always  a  very  beautiful  tree. 
Northward  it  is  unfortunately  rare  even  in  cultivation. 

T.  pubescens  is  again  distinguished  by  its  comparatively  small 
leaf  and  its  thinness.  Much  of  the  pubescence  which  is  con- 
spicuous along  the  ribs  and  in  their  angles  is  lost  at  maturity. 
The  bracts,  to  which  are  attached  the  peduncles  of  the  blos- 
soms, are  sessile,  and  they  are  most  often  rounded  at  the  ex- 
tremities. The  tree  is  found  growing  in  rich  soil  from  Long 
Island  to  Florida,  and  westward  to  Texas. 

T.  EuropcBa,  European  linden,  is  commonly  seen  planted  about 
dwellings,  and  grows  to  a  height  of  about  thirty-five  or  forty 
feet.  There  are  varieties  of  it  which  are  similar  to  both  the 
native  small-leaved  and  large-leaved  species.  Their  stamens, 
however,  are  free  from  scales  and  the  trees  have  pyramid- 
shaped  heads. 

WILD  RED  CHERRY.     BIRD  CHERRY.     PIN  CHERRY. 

PIGEON  CHERRY.     {Plate  LXXVIII) 

Prinuis  Peniisylvdnica. 

FAMILY                SHAPE  HEIGHT                        RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Plum.         Ilcad^  narrow  or  ■zo-^o/eei.       Nortltiunrd  to  Gii.  and  A/tril^Muy. 

roun,/eti :  branc/ies,  to  loiva  and  'westivard.  Fruit:  Juiu\  Jiu'y, 
horizontal. 

Bark :  reddish  brown  and  covered  with  enlarged  orange-coloured  dots,  when 
old  inclined  to  peel  about  the  trunk  into  thin,  papery  sheets.  Slifitles :  early 
falling.  Lea7'es :  simple  ;  alternate,  or  growing  in  clusters  of  five  with  slender, 
grooved  petioles  ;  oval,  with  pointed  apex  and  pointed  or  rounded  base;  finely 
serrate;  netted-vemed  ;  thin  ;  bright  green;  smooth  and  lustrous  above;  paler 


KLAlb    LAAViii.      vviLU   Ktu  urltKiM.      rritiiKs  i  iiuisyli'iiniia. 


COPYBIGMT,    1900,   BV  FREDERICK  *.  STOKES  COMPANY 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL.  157 

below,  with  niiiuite  white  pubescence;  aromatic.  Flovjcrs :  white;  almost 
scentless;  growing  in  umbels  of  four  or  five  from  long,  slender  pedicels  from 
separate,  lateral  buds.  Calyx  :  with  five  recurved  sepals.  Corolla  :  of  five 
rosaceous  petals.  Stamens  :  numerous,  of  different  lengths.  Pistil :  one.  Frutt: 
a  light  red  drupe;  round,  about  the  size  of  a  full-grown  pea,  and  tipped  with 
a  remnant  of  the  style  ;  sour. 

In  the  early  spring  woods,  when  but  feeble  suggestions  are 
to  be  seen  of  the  swelHng  foliage  and  a  full-grown  leaf  is  an 
expectation,  it  is  very  pleasant  to  find  the  red  cherry.  At  all 
seasons  of  the  year  there  is  a  sprightly,  crisp  charm  about  the 
tree  ;  but  it  then  claims  our  attention  as  being  one  of  the  first 
that  have  ventured  into  bloom.  The  delicate,  white  blossoms 
unfold  with  the  leaves,  or  when  they  are  partly  grown,  and 
might  almost  be  mistaken  for  belated  snowflakes  that  are 
slowly  dropping  through  the  branches.  As  they  fall  away  the 
fresh,  green  leaves  which  have  been  folded  together  lengthwise 
in  the  bud  begin  to  spread  themselves.  They  ever  retain  a 
wavy,  curving  edge.  In  the  autumn  they  turn  a  bright  yellow. 
The  tree  germinates  readily,  and  its  seeds  are  deposited  by 
birds  that  greedily  eat  its  fruit.  In  many  places  the  red  cherry 
is  abundantly  seen  among  the  shrubbery  of  the  waysides,  al- 
though it  then  seldom  attains  a  full  development.  The  tree  is 
short  lived.  In  the  fruit  herbalists  have  found  medicinal  prop- 
erties. 

P.  Ma/ialeb,  perfumed  cherry,  or  Mahaleb,  is  a  small  tree,  or 
sometimes  a  shrub  which  is  becoming  frequent  in  this  country 
along  the  waysides  and  in  w^aste  places.  It  comes  from  Europe 
where  its  wood  is  largely  used  in  cabinet  work.  The  particu- 
lar charm  about  it  is  the  fragrance  of  its  white  blossoms.  They 
grow  in  corymbed  clusters  on  the  young,  leafy  branches  of  the 
season,  and  unfold  at  the  same  time  as  the  smooth,  ovate 
leaves.     The  drupe  is  almost  black  and  tinged  with  red. 


PLATE  LXXIX.     AMERICAN  CRAB-APPLE.     Mahis  coronarm. 
(15S) 


PLATE  LXXX.     NARROW-LEAVtD  CRAB-APPLE.     Mains  atiiiiistijoiui. 


COPVRIGHT,    1900,   By  FREDERICK  «.  STOKES  COMPANY 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL.  159 

AMERICAN  CRAB=APPLE.     SWEET=SCENTED  CRAB 
TREE.     {Plate  LXXIX.) 

Mains  coronaria. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Apple.  Heady  open;  lo-i^/t-ft.         Ontario  to  Mick.,  south-  Aprit,  May. 

branches^  spreading.  ward  to  So.  Caroiina.  Fruit-    Sept. 

Bark  :  reddish  brown,  the  outer  layers  separating  into  thin  plates.  StipuUs : 
early  falling.  Leaves :  simple;  alternate  ;  with  slender,  downy  petioles;  ovate, 
with  pointed  apex  and  rounded  or  slightly  cordate  base.  Edgetl  toothed  wlien 
mature,  and  frequently  appearing  as  though  having  two  side  lobes.  Bright 
green  above;  paler  below;  at  maturity  glabrous.  Flowers :  large;  rose  coloured, 
or  white;  fragrant;  growing  in  loose,  terminal  umbels  and  appearing  after  the 
leaves.  Calyx:  pubc;scent.  Corolla:  of  five  petals.  Stamens:  numerous. 
Pistil:  one.  Fruit :  a  yellowish-green  pome;  very  fragrant;  and  covered  with 
a  waxy  substance  ;  sour. 

Who  that  is  acquainted  with  the  odours  of  nature  does  not 
lift  his  head  in  the  air  to  inhale  more  freely  the  delightful  fra- 
grance of  this  little  tree  and  then  look  about  to  locate  its 
presence  ?  The  deeply-hued,  brilliant  blossoms  are  particularly 
lovely  and  enliven  all  the  rusty  and  misty  green  tones  which 
hover  over  the  earth  so  early  in  the  season.  About  the  fruit, 
however,  there  is  a  sly  deception  ;  it  appears  as  though  it  might 
be  very  good  and  thus  many  are  led  to  taste  of  it,  when  the 
disillusion  is  sad  indeed.  By  a  little  judicious  management 
housewives  make  it  into  crab-apple  jelly  and  preserves.  Cider 
also  is  made  from  the  fruit.  As  a  shrub  the  American  crab- 
apple  is  rather  distorted  and  bushy  in  outline;  but  when  seen 
as  a  small  tree  in  cultivation  hardly  one  more  beautiful  can  be 
imagined.     Its  fruit  then  becomes  tinged  with  red  and  yellow. 

M.  a)i;usti folia,  narrow-leaved  crab-apple,  {Plate  LXXX.) 
differs  from  the  preceding  species  in  that  its  leaves  are  narrowly- 
oblong,  or  lanceolate.  It  mostly  inhabits  the  south  and  west 
and,  what  is  rather  unusual  from  its  locality,  bears  smaller 
flowers  and  fruit  than  the  northern  one.  The  coloured  illustra- 
tion shows  clearly  its  lovely  spray  of  pink  blossoms  and  its 
round,  green  fruit.  Its  wood  is  closely  grained  and  heavy.  It 
is  made  into  handles  for  tools  and  into  many  small  articles. 


Drujie,  /aiii  (ififit.         Section  of  ftover. 

PLATE  LXXXl.     CANADA  PLUM.     Prumis  7iigra. 
(1601 


TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL.  i6i 

CANADA  PLUM.     HORSE  PLUM.     {Plate  LXXXI.) 
Prunus  nigra. 


FAMILY 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE 

TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Piutu. 

Heady  narrow  ;   branches. 

20-30  feet. 

New  England  to 

May. 

upright. 

Wisconsin. 

Fruit:    August. 

Bark:  light  brownish  grey;  thin  and  separating  into  sheets.  Stipules:  lanceo- 
late, or  lobed  and  early  falling.  Leaves:  simple;  alternate,  with  stout  petioles 
which  have  one  or  two  red  glands  by  the  blade;  oval;  pointed  at  the  apex  and 
obtuse  or  slightly  cordate  at  the  base;  coarsely  serrate;  when  young  pubes- 
cent and  tinged  witii  red  ;  smooth  at  maturity  ;  not  lustrous.  Flowers :  white; 
turning  as  they  fade  to  pink;  growing  on  long,  reddish  pedicels  in  lateral 
umbels  and  opening  before  the  leaves.  Fruit:  an  orange-red  drupe;  oval;  the 
skin  thick.     Stone  :  clinging  closely  to  the  flesh. 

When  this  tree  of  the  plum  family  is  in  bloom  or  hung  with 
its  translucent,  radiant  fruit  it  seems  to  elicit  continual  praise. 
In  its  wild  state  it  is  a  thorny  tree  and  the  long  spikes  add  much 
to  its  rugged,  picturesque  beauty.  When  it,  however,  resigns 
its  cares  in  life  into  the  hands  of  the  horticulturist  these  thorns 
become  eliminated.  Their  original  purpose  which  was  to  pro- 
tect the  fruit  from  the  ravages  of  small  animals  is  superfluous 
in  the  modern  garden.  In  fact  pomologists  have  done  much  in 
the  way  of  diminishing  them  by  budding  with  other  stock  and 
selecting  buds  from  those  branches  that  have  the  fewest  thorns. 
For  in  cultivation  thorns  are  no  doubt  an  objection  to  a  tree. 
Pickers  are  annoyed  by  them,  and  during  wind  storms  they 
often  puncture  the  fruit  so  as  to  render  it  unfit  for  the  market. 
Throughout  the  northern  New  England  states  and  in  Canada 
the  tree  is  widely  cultivated,  and  is  used  as  a  stock  upon  which 
to  graft  the  domestic  plum.  As  is  true  of  many  of  the  faiTiily 
its  fruit  is  quite  prone  to  vary.  Much  of  it  finds  its  way  into  the 
markets.  It  is  eaten  raw  by  many  and  is  excellent  for  stewing 
and  making  into  preserves. 

The  usual  habitat  of  the  Canada  plum  is  in  rich,  alluvial  soil. 
It  also  grows  with  the  hawthorns  in  thickets,  or  by  the  borders 
of  forests  and  occasionally  in  the  neighbourhood  of  streams. 


PLATE  LXXXII.    WILD  PLUM.    Primus  subcordata. 
(162; 


FAMILY 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE 

Plum. 

Branches^ 
horizontal. 

\o-2^/cet. 

Oyegon  and  Cali/ornia. 

TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL.  163 

WILD  PLUM.     {Plate  LXXXJI.) 
Primus  sicbcordata. 

TIME  OF  BLOOM 

March,  April, 
Fruit:  Aug.,  Sept. 

Bark:  greyish  brown;  rough.  Branchlcts :  bright  red  and  marked  with 
pale  Icnticels.  Lcai'cs :  simple;  alternate,  petioled  ;  Ijroadly-ovate,  bluntly 
pointed  at  the  apex  and  slightly  cordate  or  squared  at  the  base  ;  sharply  and 
singly  or  doubly  serrate ;  dark  green  and  glabrous  above  only  slighily  jjubes- 
cent  underneath  at  maturity.  Flowers :  growing  in  nearly  sessile  umbels  and 
appearing  before  the  leaves.  Calyx:  campanulate,  with  five  pubescent  lobes. 
Corolla:  with  five  white,  rounded  ]5etals.  Fruit:  dark  bluish,  red  or  yellow  ; 
somewhat  acrid  but  pleasantly  flavoured. 

About  the  autumn  colours  in  Oregon,  Mr.  E.  W.  Hammond 
writes  :  "  The  wild  plum  sometimes  becomes  a  small  tree,  but 
is  seen  generally  as  a  small  shrub  three,  four  or  five  feet  in 
height.  It  often  sets  the  whole  country-side  ablaze  in  the 
autumn  with  the  abundance  of  its  scarlet  and  crimson  colours, 
mingled,  of  course,  with  red  and  yellow,  and  garnished  with  a 
sprinkling  of  green." 

In  bloom  it  is  also  a  gay  sight,  as  are  all  of  its  kindred  when 
their  showers  of  delicate,  flake-like  petals  alight.  In  fading 
those  of  the  wild  plum  turn  to  pale  pink,  and  almost  before  the 
earth  can  have  accustomed  itself  to  their  presence  they  steadily 
fall. 

The  tree  or  shrub  is  full  of  vigour  and  yields  in  cultivation 
an  abundance  of  fruit.  Upon  it  several  European  species  of 
plums  have  been  grafted  with  excellent  results.  West  of  the 
Sierra  Nevada  mountains  in  California  and  Oregon,  where 
Prunus  subcordata  is  well  known,  its  fruit  is  yearly  sought  and 
made  into  delicious  jellies  and  jams. 

HAWTHORN.     SCARLET  THORN.     RED  HAW. 

{Plate  LXXXIIi:) 
Craicegus  coccinca. 

FAMILY             SHAPE                          HEIGHT                         RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Apple.        Spreading:   branches,     10-2,0 /eet.      NetuFoundlandifest-  ISIay. 

crooked.                                            ivard,  south~Luard  to  Fruit:    Sept^ 

Florida. 

Bark:  brown  or  ask  colour;  broken  in  thin  plates.  Branchlets :  silver- 
green;   glimmering.       Thorns:    one    to    two    inches  long;    curved.      Leaves: 


PLATE  LXXXIll.     HAWTHORN.     Cratcrgus  coccinea. 
(164) 


trep:s  growing  in  rich  soil.  165 

simple  ;  alternate  ;  sleuder-petioled  in  alternate  bunches  ;  rounded-ovate,  with 
pointed  apex  and  pointed  or  slightly  heart-shaped  base  ;  sharply  and  unevenly 
toothed  or  forming  small  lobes;  deep  green  tinged  with  red,  shining  and  glab- 
rous; membranous.  Floivers :  large;  white,  pink  or  reddish;  clustered  in  a 
corymb;  odour,  unpleasant.  Calyx:  urn-shaped;  five-cleft.  Corolla:  of  five 
rosaceous  petals.  Stainois :  numerous.  Fistil :  one  with  from  three  to  five 
styles.    Fruit :  bright  scarlet ;  ovate  ;  not  edible. 

Among  the  hawthorns  there  are  a  liumber  of  beautiful  trees 
with  close,  fine  foliage  and  dainty,  cherry-like  blossoms  which 
unfold  an  abundance  of  brightness  in  the  springtime.  We  are 
prone  to  lament  that  the  odours  of  many  of  the  species  are  dis- 
agreeable; but  this  is  not  so  without  a  purpose.  Carrion-loving 
Hies  which  assist  in  accomplishing  cross-fertilization  are  attracted 
by  this  means,  and  the  flapping  of  their  wings  makes  a  sonorous 
hum  through  the  treetops.  Although  this  tree  is  common 
throughout  the  north,  it  appears  not  to  be  as  much  found  in 
gardens  as  formerly.  Until  late  in  the  autumn  the  bright  red 
fruit  hangs  on  the  branches.  The  closely  grained  and  hard 
wood  is  brown  with  a  reddish  tint. 

C.  macracd/if/ia,  long-spined  thorn,  is  a  similar  tree  to  the  pre- 
ceding one  and  has  longer  and  brighter  brown  thorns  which  grow 
on  its  straggling  branches.  Its  leaves  are  broadly  obovate,  and 
its  flowers  and  fruit  are  rather  small.  From  May  until  June  it 
may  be  found  in  bloom. 

BLACK  THORN.  PEAR  THORN.  PEAR  HAW. 

{F/aie  LXXXIV.) 
Cratagiis  iomentbsa. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Apple.         Head,  Jlaty  broad :     Z-2$Jeei.     A  tlatitic  seaboard  westtvard        May,  June. 

branches,  thick.  to  Missouri  and  Texas,  Fruit:  October. 

Bark:  ashy  grey,  broken  into  thin  scales.  Young  tivigs  :  bronze-green  or 
dull  orange.  77iorits :  stout;  one  to  two  inches  long.  Stif'ulcs :  linear. 
ZfTrttrj-."  simple ;  alternate  ;  ovate  and  narrowing  into  a  margined  petiole;  the 
apex  pointed  ;  sharply  and  unevenly  serrate,  or  cut  to  appear  like  small  lobes  ; 
thick.  Upper  surface  greyish  green,  almost  smooth  and  impressed  above  the 
ribs  ;  pubescent  below  when  young  and  remaining  so  along  the  ribs.  Floivers  : 
numerous;  white;  odour,  disagreeable;  about  one  inch  across  and  growing 
in  loose  corymbs  at  the  end  of  the  branches.  Fruit :  orange  or  dull  red;  oval 
or  pear  shaped  ;  about  half  an  inch  in  diameter  ;  edible. 

Although  the  blackthorn  has  not  the  advantage  of  having  its 


PLATE  LXXXIV.     BLACKTHORN.     Cratcegiis  tomenlusa. 
(i66) 


PLATE  LXXXV.     DOTTED  -  FRUITED  THORN.     Crata-gus punctata. 


COPVRIGHT,    1900,    By  FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANy. 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL.  167 

blossoms  delicately  tinted  as  those  of  the  scarlet  thorn,  there  are 
several  other  little  points  of  distinction  between  them  which  are 
in  its  favour.  Its  flowers  are  larger,  and  its  fruit  is  edible  and 
agreeable  to  the  taste.  Perhaps  its  chief  charm,  however,  is  that 
the  bright,  cheery  appearing  fruit  remains  on  the  branches  all 
winter,  or  until  the  leaf-buds  unfold  in  the  spring.  Such  a  feature 
as  this  is  much  thought  of  when  a  tree  is  chosen  to  be  cultivated 
for  ornament.  The  black  thorn  has,  it  must  be  confessed,  a 
rather  changeable  nature  and  varies  greatly  in  the  style  of  its 
foliage  and  fruit.  Not  infrequently  it  descends  to  a  shrub. 
This  may  be  nothing  more  than  a  clever  adaptation  to  circum- 
stances, as  it  is  more  widely  distributed  through  different  local- 
ities than  any  other  one  of  the  American  thorns. 

DOTTED-FRUITED  THORN.     COMMON  THORN.    LARGE- 
FRUITED  THORN.     {Plate  LXXXV.) 

Craio'gics  punctata. 

FAMILY            SHAPE                  HEIGHT                              RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Apple.         Flat-topped.,             i2-^o/eet.            New  Englcind  westward  May. 

compact.                                                  atid  southward  to  Gil.  Fruit :  Sept. 

Bark:  reddish  brown;  rough.  Thorns:  when  present  one  to  two  inches 
long;  curved  or  branched.  Stipules:  lanceolate.  Leaves:  simple;  alternate  ; 
obovate  ;  obtuse  or  slightly  pointed  at  the  apex,  the  base  tapering  and  forming 
on  each  side  a  margin  to  the  petiole  ;  sharply  and  unevenly  serrate,  or  even 
deeply  cut  towards  the  apex,  sometimes  entire  at  the  base  ;  thick  ;  light  green 
and  downy  when  young,  becoming  grey-green  and  dull  at  maturity  and  fre- 
quently remaining  pubescent  about  the  prominent  ribs.  Ftcwers :  white; 
usually  from  eight  to  fifteen  growing  in  a  leafy  corymb.  Fruit:  one-half  to 
three-quarters  of  an  inch  in  diameter ;  yellow  and  dull  red  with  white  dots 
upon  the  surface;  slightly  edible. 

A  bit  of  personal  history  that  is  usu- 
ally quoted  in  connection  with  this 
charming  little  tree  is  that  it  was  intro- 
duced into  English  gardens  by  the 
Duke  of  Argyll.  And  for  ornamenta- 
tion hardly  one  more  appropriate  could 
have  been  chosen.  It  is  of  good  habit  in 
cultivation,  and,  when  attention  is  paid 
to  it,  it  grows  very  quaintly;  its  head 
being  broad  and  flat.      As  its  orange  Crat^gus punctiita. 


PLATE  LXXXVI.     COCKSPUR  THORN.     Cratcrgus  Criis-Galli. 
(i68) 


TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL. 


:6g 


and  scarlet  foliage  falls  away  in  the  autumn  its  branches  are 
seen  to  be  covered  with  showy  fruit.  That  they  are  dotted 
with  white  and  the  smaller  foliage,  are  marks  by  which  this  one 
of  the  hawthorns  may  be  known  from  other  members  of  its 
family. 


COCKSPUR  THORN.     NEWCASTLE  THORN. 

{P/a/eZXXXFI.) 

Crata-gus  Cms-  Gdlli. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Ap^U.         Head,  Jiat,  /•road;        \o-^o  feet.        Quebec,  sotithivard  and  June. 

branches,  rigid.  westzuard.  I'ruit:    October. 

Bark:  reddish  brown  or  ash  colour;  scaly.  Thorns:  mimerous  ;  two  or 
four  inches  long;  smooth;  slender;  straight.  Leaves:  simple;  alternate; 
obovate,  or  lanceolate;  slightly  pointed  or  rounded  at  the  apex  and  tapering 
into  a  very  short  leaf-stalk  at  the  base  ;  very  variable  in  width  ;  unevenly  and 
sharply  serrate  above  the  middle  ;  entire  below  ;  thick  ;  dark  green  ;  lustrous 
and  glabrous  above,  dull  underneath.  Fhnoers  :  numerous;  white;  fragrant; 
growing  in  corymbs  from  short,  lateral  branches  and  apjiearing  after  the  leaves. 
Fruit :  red;  dull;  globular,  or  slightly  pear-shaped. 


Both  in  Europe  and  America  this  small 
tree  is  very  generally  cultivated.  It  is 
the  favourite  of  the  family  for  hedge 
planting,  when  its  compact,  thick  manner 
of  growth  and  comparatively  low  height 
show  to  great  advantage.  An  added 
charm  about  it  is  that  its  bright,  firm  fruit 
remains  on  the  branches  over  the  winter. 
Birds  do  not  devour  it;  nor  do  fungal 
diseases  trouble  the  foliage.  The  tree 
has  ever  a  fresh,  invigourating  aspect, 
leaves  turn  to  dull  orange  or  scarlet. 


Crattr^us  Crus-Cdlli. 

In   the  autumn   the 


Enlarged  flo-<ver.     Flower  laid  open. 

PLATE  LXXXVIl.     SOUR-WOOD.     Oxyihndrtcm  arboreicm. 
(170) 


PLATE  LXXXVIII.     WITCH-HAZEL.     Hamamclis  \-iroiuiaiia. 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,    BY  FREDERICK  A.   STOKES  COMPANY. 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL.  171 

SOUR-WOOD.     50RREL-TREE.     {Plate  LXXX  VII.) 

OxydaidriiDi  arbor  cum. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Heath.     Oblong:   hrandu-s,     15-6= /<■<-/.     Penn.to  Fla.  and  ivcstward  June,  July, 

spreading.  to  Louisiana. 

Bark  :  grev  tinted  with  red  ;  deeply  furrowed.  Leaves  :  five  to  seven  inches 
long;  si.iiple;  alternate;  slendcr-petioled ;  ovate,  with  pointed  apex  and 
pointed  or  rounded  base;  finely  serrate  ;  lustrous  ;  becoming  glabrous  at  matur- 
ity;  sour  to  the  taste.  Flowers:  white;  scented  like  honey;  growing  in  long, 
terminal,  one-sided  clusters  at  the  end  of  leafy  shoots.  Calyx  :  five-toothed. 
Corolla:  urn-shaped;  five-toothed;  pubescent.  Stamens:  ten.  Pistil:  one. 
Capsules:  growing  in  long,  drooping  clusters;  pyramid-shaped;  five-valved. 

In  the  same  way  that  Browning  has  said  that  all  that  books 
can  teach  us  is  to  do  without  them  ;  so  it  matters  not  so  much 
what  we  learn  about  the  trees  as  it  does  what  we  see  and  find 
out  for  ourselves.  And  there  is  always  an  individual  impression 
to  be  received  from  them  by  those  that  have  any  keenness  of 
sensibility.  But  unfortunately  many  take  their  enjoyment 
very  dolefully  and  would  think  it  the  height  of  levity  to  indulge 
any  fanciful  ideas  the  trees  might  suggest.  Again  many  are 
not  in  the  habit  of  watching  the  trees  as  they  come  into  bloom, 
and  for  them  to  find  the  sour-wood  hung  with  its  delicate 
sprays  of  flowers  so  suggestive  of  the  lily-of-the-valley  must  in- 
deed be  a  revelation.  To  be  able  then  to  inhale  to  the  fullest 
its  beauty  and  its  honey-like  scent  is  a  good  gift  of  Providence. 

The  wood  of  the  tree  is  hard  and  closely  grained  and  is  of 
service  in  many  ways.  One  extensive  use  to  which  it  is  put  is 
the  making  of  handles  for  tools. 

WITCH=H  AZEL.     {Plate  LXXX  VIII.) 
Hamamelis  VirginiaJia . 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Witch-hazel.     Head,  open^  bi-oad:     %-yjfeet.     Xo-:'a  Scotia  sojitlnvard  Ang.-l^ec. 

branches,  spreading.  to  Florida  and  Ic.vas.        Fruit:  .-.pring. 

Bark:  brown;  smooth;  falling  in  thin  scales.  Iinwr  bark:  purplish  red. 
Stipules:  lanceolate.  Leaves:  simiile  ;  alternate;  with  short,  stout  petioles; 
obovate ;  pointed  or  rounded  at  the  ajoex,  unequal  at  the  base  ;  coarsely  and 
irregularly  serrate;  frequently  entire  below  the  middle.  Dull  green  above, 
lighter  coloured  and  pubescent  underneath;  slightly  astringent.  Flowers: 
bright  yellow  ;  growing  in  axillary  clusters  on  short  peduncles.     Calyx:  four- 


172  TREES  GROWING  EX  RICH  SOIL. 

parted,  with  bractlets  underneath;  inner  surface  orange-brown;  pubescent. 
Corolla:  bright  yellow;  of  four  almost  linear  petals,  often  twisted  and  falling 
with  the  stamens.  Fruit:  a  woody  capsule,  with  orange-brown,  pubescent 
seeds. 

This  dainty  shrub  is  one  of  the  unccMiventional  spirits  of  the 
woodlands  and  pays  the  penalty  for  its  vagaries  by  having  at- 
tached to  it  the  reputation  of  witchcraft.  It  is  very  slow  about 
ripening  its  fruit.  Throughout  the  autumn  and  winter  the 
calyx-lobes  protect  the  ovary  which  does  not  begin  to  enlarge 
until  the  following  spring.  The  fruit  of  one  year,  therefore, 
attains  maturity  at  the  same  time  that  the  flowers  of  the  next 
year  are  opening.  When  the  pods  burst  open  they  cast  forth 
their  seeds  with  astonishing  force  and  to  a  great  distance  from 
the  plant.  To  the  North  American  Indian  we  undoubtedly  owe 
the  first  knowledge  of  the  efificacy  of  its  bark  for  the  curing  of 
inflammations.  It  has  for  a  long  time  been  distilled  in  alcohol 
to  make  Pond's  extract.  A  strange  thing  about  it  is,  however, 
that  chemists  have  failed  to  discover  in  it  any  "active  medicinal 
properties." 

Green  hazel  wands  were  for  a  long  time  used  by  the  credu- 
lous to  locate,  through  their  supposed  power  of  witchcraft,  the 
presence  under  ground  of  gold  or  of  springs  of  water.  A  forked 
branch  was  twisted  between  the  fingers  and  thumbs  of  both 
hands,  and  the  direction  in  which  it  pointed  was  taken  as 
an  indication  of  where  the  desired  metal  or  water  should  be 
sought.  The  popular  name  of  the  plant  is  an  outcome  of  this 
practice.  Although  we  are  accustomed  to  seeing  Hamamelis 
Virginiana  as  a  shrub,  it  becomes  arborescent  on  the  high 
slopes  of  the  Alleghany  mountains  in  North  and  South  Carolina 
and  in  Tennessee.  Its  wood  is  reddish  brown  quite  hard  and 
closely  grained. 


PLATE  LXXXIX.     AMERICAN  CHESTNUT.     Castanea  dentata. 


COPYRIGHT,    t900,   8r  FREDERICK  A.  STOKES   COMPANY 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL.  173 

AMERICAN  CHESTNUT.     {Plate  LXXXIX.) 

Casta/wa  dentdta. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Beech.         Round-topped:         ^o-^o  feet  or  higher.     Southern  Maine  to  June,  July, 

branches,  spreading.  >/«.  and  'I'enn.  Sept.,  Oct.' 

Bark:  granite-grey;  ridged,  but  smooth  in  young  trees.  Leaves:  simple; 
alternate;  with  short  petioles;  oblong-lanceolate;  pointed  at  both  ends  or 
rounded  at  the  base  ;  feather-veined;  coarsely  serrate;  the  ribs  terminating  in 
the  sharp,  bristle-pointed  teeth  of  the  edge.  Siniisfs:  rounded.  Dark  green 
above,  lighter  coloured  below;  glabrous.  Sloile  flowers:  yellow;  sweet- 
scented  ;  growing  in  slender,  a.xillary  catkins;  fertile  ones,  about  three  or  four 
in  each  involucre.  Fruit:  growing  in  a  green,  prickly  husk,  which  opens  in 
four  sections  and  discloses  three  or  four  ovoid  nuts,  flattened  on  one  or  both 
sides;  brown,  and  ti|)ped  with  a  white  remnant  of  the  style.  Seldom  more  than 
three  fully  developed;  edible;  sweet. 

"  Under  a  spreading  chestnut  tree 

The  village  smithy  stands; 
The  smith,  a  mighty  man  is  he, 

With  large  and  sinewy  hands ; 
And  the  muscles  of  his  brawny  arms 

Are  strong  as  iron  bands." 

Fortunate,  indeed,  was  the  good  smith  immortalized  by 
Longfellow  to  be  able  to  cool  himself  from  his  labours  at  the 
forge  under  the  voluminous,  kindly  shade  of  the  chestnut  tree. 
It  has,  perhaps,  the  heart  of  a  humanitarian.  Country  urchins 
surely  forget  the  need  of  money  when  they  find,  after  a  light 
frost,  the  ground  covered  with  its  inviting  nuts,  and  many  a  be- 
grimmed  Italian  is  consoled  by  them  for  the  fortune  he  expected 
to  find  in  the  new  world.  Early  and  late  in  the  autumn  we  see 
these  men  standing  on  the  streets  of  the  cities  making  with 
their  time-worn  knives  a  cross  upon  the  nuts,  and  then  roasting 
them  in  their  little  machines.  Although  they  are  smaller  than 
the  nuts  of  the  European  varieties,  their  meat  has  a  sweeter 
flavour  and  a  finer  grain.  Owing  to  their  small  size,  however, 
the  labour  of  preparing  these  native  chestnuts  for  cooking  is 
considerable,  and  this  is  perhaps  the  reason  that  chestnut 
puree  and  pudding  are  not  so  frequent  in  this  country  as  they 
are  in  Europe. 

The  tree  at  all  times  is  an  imposing  and  beautiful  object. 


174  TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL. 

It  seems  as  though  every  one  should  know  its  tall,  column-like 
shaft,  its  dense,  characteristic  foliage,  and  its  quaint  fruit.  It 
grows  very  rapidly.  Although  durable  when  in  contact  with 
the  soil,  its  reddish-brown  wood  is  not  strong,  and  warps  badly 
when  it  is  dried. 

C.  PiDiiila,  Chinquapin,  {Plate  A'C)  is  a  shrub  or  small  round- 
topped  tree  which  grows  on  rich  hillsides,  in  swamp  borders  or 
even  in  dry  soil,  from  New  Jersey  southward  and  westward. 
Its  leaves  are  oblong,  feather-veined  and  conspicuously  ser- 
rate. On  the  under  surface  they  have  a  dense,  white  fuzz.  In 
the  burr  there  is  but  one  ovoid  nut,  or,  very  rarely,  two.  The 
meat  is  very  sweet,  and  they  are  sold  in  large  numbers  in  the 
streets  and  markets  of  the  southern  and  western  cities.  To 
this  fruit  ancient  writers  have  referred  as  being  "a  great 
daintie." 

AMERICAN  BEECH.     {Plate  XCI.) 
Fagiis  Americana. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Beech.        Raund-topf'cd :        50-70-1 20 yV-*-/.  Nova  Scotia  to  Fla.  Aprils  May, 

branches Jiorizoutal.  and  westward.  Sept. ^  Oct. 

Bark:  light  bluish  grey;  smooth.  Leaves:  simple;  alternate;  with  very 
short  petioles;  ovate;  oblong;  with  pointed  apex  and  rounded  or  narrowed 
base.  Ribs :  straight,  uubranched  and  terminating  in  the  remote  teeth. 
Fringed  on  the  margins  with  soft,  white  hairs  which  soon  fall;  glabrous.  Stam- 
tnate  flmvers :  clustered  on  drooping  peduncles.  Pistillate  ones:  two  only  and 
terminating  a  scaly  bracted  peduncle.  Fruit :  a  pair  of  three-sided  nuts,  with  a 
sweet  and  edible  kernel  which  grows  within  a  four-celled,  prickly  burr  splittng 
when  ripe  midway  to  the  base. 

It  is  fortunate  that  there  is  no  one  type  of  tree  which  may 
alone  be  regarded  as  beautiful.  Beauty  is  truly,  as  has  been  so 
justly  and  often  said,  in  the  eye  of  the  beholder.  By  many  the 
American  beech  is  thought  to  be  the  most  lovely  of  all  trees. 
Its  train  of  admirers  are  quite  as  ardent  about  it  as  those  of  the 
American  elm,  the  sugar  maple,  the  gum  tree,  and  many  others. 
Certainly  in  the  spring  when  it  is  covered  with  its  staminate 
blossoms  it  is  a  splendid  sight,  and  its  perfect  leaves  are  sel- 
dom spotted  or  eaten  by  insects.     In  the  winter,  also,  it  is  par- 


FlATl  aC.      CHiNQuAriiN.      i^aiictiiLii  Jji///ii/u. 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,    BV  FREDERICK  *.  STOKES  COMPANIT. 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  IN  RIGII  SOIL.  175 

ticularly  interesting.  Its  beautiful  bark  then  appears  very 
bright,  and  after  its  fine  leaves  have  fallen,  although  many  of 
them,  pale  and  dried,  cling  to  the  branches  throughout  the 
winter,  the  structure  of  its  massive  head  is  seen  to  advantage. 
Of  all  the  trees  of  America  it  is  one  of  the  most  widely  dis- 
tributed. In  the  Canadian  markets  and  those  of  many  of  the 
middle  and  western  states,  its  nuts  are  sold  in  considerable 
quantities.  Although  the  reddish  and  closely-grained  W^ood 
of  the  tree  checks  badly  in  drying  and  is  difficult  to  season, 
it  is  still  a  valuable  article  of  commerce.  Shoe  lasts  are  made 
from  it,  and  pulleys  and  handles  of  tools;  chairs  and  milking 
stools  also  are  often  made  of  beech  wood. 

F.  sylvdiica,  the  European  beech,  is  planted  in  this  country, 
and  was  for  a  long  time  confused  by  early  travellers  wuth  the 
American  species.  It  may  be  known  by  its  broader  leaves  with 
their  strongly  crenate  edge  and  with  the  abundance  of  fine 
hairs  on  their  under  surface.  Often  not  until  November  do 
these  leaves  begin  to  show  their  golden  colour  and  gradually 
to  turn  to  russet-brown.  On  the  ground  as  they  fall  they  make 
a  fresh,  thick  bed.  The  American  beech  is  then  completely 
stripped  of  its  foliage. 

F.  sylvatica  foliis  atrorubentibiis,  the  beautiful  copper  beech, 
with  its  shimmering  masses  of  richly  hued  foliage,  is  a  variety 
of  the  preceding  species.  Although  the  little  chlorophyll  grains 
which  contain  the  green  colouring  matter  of  the  foliage  are 
present  and  no  doubt  working  away  quite  busily  in  these  leaves; 
there  is  probably  some  strong  pigment  in  the  leaf-sap  which 
overpowers  them  and  thus  gives  its  own  deep,  rich  colouring 
to  the  foliage, 

CANOE  BIRCH.     PAPER  BIRCH.     WHITE  BIRCH. 

{Plate  XCII.) 
B^tttla  papyrifera. 


FAMILY 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE 

TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Birch. 

Pyramidal :  branches. 

i,o--jofeet  or 

Northern  Penn. 

Af^ril,  May. 

pendulous. 

higher. 

north  wa  rd. 

Bark  of  trunk  :  chalky  white;  smooth  and  disaj^reeable  to  the  touch;  tough; 
durable,  and  readily  peeling  from  the  wood;  in  its  turn  it  separates  into  many 


176  TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL. 

thin  papery  sheets,  which  are  faint  red  in  colour  and  marlced  with  vhort,  dark 
lines.  Leaves:  simple;  alternate;  with  downy  petioles;  ovate;  with  pointed 
apex  and  rounded,  wedge-shaped,  or  sub-cordate  base ;  doubly  and  unequally 
serrate;  dark  green  and  smooth  above;  dull  below  and  pubescent  in  the  angles 
of  the  straight  ribs.  Floivcrs:  monoecious;  growing  in  slender,  cylindrical  and 
scaly  catkins.  Strobiles:  growing  on  slender  stalks  ;  the  wings  of  the  minute 
nuts  broad  and  often  fringed. 

Happily  the  canoe  birch  wears  a  uniform  that  we  all  know  ; 
and  when  many  of  _  the  trees  are  seen  from  afar,  amid  the 
dark  shades  of  the  forest,  they  appear  not  unlike  the  advancing 
guard  of  a  regiment.  There  is  about  them  the  same  air  of 
distinction  from  all  that  surrounds  them.  The  tree  seems 
to  belong  especially  to  the  primitive  people  of  the  north, 
who  must  surely  regard  it  with  affection.  The  Indian's  birch- 
bark  canoe  carries  him  swiftly  and  silently  over  the  water  as  he 
perchance  guides  it  by  a  paddle  made  from  the  wood  of  the 
tree.  When  the  streams  are  frozen  and  the  covering  of  the 
earth  is  as  white  as  the  birch's  bark,  he  is  drawn  on  sledges  or 
glides  along  on  snow  shoes  that  are  alike  constructed  in  part 
from  the  tree.  From  rough  weather  his  wigwam  is  also  pro- 
tected by  its  resinous  bark,  and  when  the  sweet  sap  begins  to 
flow  in  the  springtime  he  knows  how  to  boil  it  into  a  syrup  or 
make  it  into  a  cooling  drink.  Of  his  life  the  tree  is  a  part,  and 
from  the  standpoint  of  sentiment  it  seems  as  though  it  should 
be  left  to  the  Indian  rather  than  given  over  to  lumbermen  who 
sell  it  for  the  making  of  shoe  lasts,  pegs  and  fuel.  Tourists 
inflict  great  damage  to  the  appearance  of  the  tree  by  tearing 
off  its  bark,  as  its  peculiarity  of  peeling  horizontally  is  well 
known.  In  the  mountainous  regions  of  the  north  it  is  frequent 
on  wooded  slopes  or  often  by  the  borders  of  streams. 

That  Hiawatha's  request  comes  so  spontaneously  to  the  mind 
in  connection  with  the  tree  seems  to  accentuate  the  Indians' 
vital  love  and  knowledge  of  it. 

"  Give  me  of  your  bark,  O  Birch-Tree  I 
Of  your  yellow  bark,  O  Birch-Tree, 
Growing  by  the  rushing  river, 
Tall  and  stately  in  the  valley  ! 


PLATE  XC I.     AMERICAN   BEECH.     Fao:us  Americana. 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,   BY  FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY. 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL.  177 

I  a  light  canoe  will  build  me, 
Build  a  swift  Cheemaun  for  sailing, 
That  shall  float  upon  the  river, 
Like  a  yellow  leaf  in  Autumn, 
Like  a  yellow  water-lily  ! 

"  Lay  aside  your  cloak,  O  Birch-Tree  ! 
Lay  aside  your  white  skin  wrapper, 
For  the  summer-time  is  coming, 
And  the  sun  is  warm  in  heaven, 
And  you  need  no  white-skin  wrapper  ! 

And  the  tree  with  all  its  branches 
Rustled  in  the  breeze  of  morning, 
Saying  with  a  sigh  of  patience, 
"  Take  my  cloak,  O  Hiawatha  !  " 

SWEET  BIRCH.     BLACK  BIRCH.     CHERRY  BIRCH. 

{Plate  XCIII.) 

Bet  tela  lent  a. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Bh-ch.     Rounded:  branches,     30  SjyVf/.     New  Foundiand  to  Ontario        April,  lijay. 
slender.  soiiihivard  and  westward. 

Bark:  dark;  rich  brown  ;  smooth  but  becoming  rough  as  the  tree  grows 
old;  not  suljject  to  peeling.  Branches:  reddish;  smooth;  ami  covered  with 
while  wart-like  dots;  sweet;  aromatic.  Leaves  :  simple;  alternate  ;  with  sliort, 
downy  petioles;  ovate,  with  pointed  apex  and  rounded  or  cordate  base  ;  finely 
and  doubly  serrate;  ribs,  straight ;  vivid,  green  and  glossy  above;  dull  and 
pubescent  below  but  becoming  smooth.  Fhnvers :  growing  in  catkins  and 
appearing  before  the  leaves.  Stamitiate  ones:  golden  ;  long.  Pistillate  ones:  in 
dense,  shorter  catkins.  Strobiles:  dark  green;  sessile;  with  rounded  and 
lobed  scales.     Ntit :  obovate. 

When  we  go  among  the  trees  and  perhaps  rest  for  awhile  under 
the  shade  ot  the  sweet  birch,  we  might,  if  our  ears  were  sufficient- 
ly quickened,  hear  many  tales  of  country-lore  that  are  passing 
through  the  swish  of  its  leaves.  Tales  are  astir  about  the  evil 
spirits  that  seek  it  and  greedily  devour  its  sweet  bark.  To  their 
hearts  gratitude  is  unknown.  The  tree  could  tell  also  of  many 
that  love  the  shimmer  of  its  leaves  ;  that  notice  the  golden  pollen 
in  its  beautiful  spray  of  staminate  blossoms  and  partake  of  its 
shade  as  graciously  as  though  they  were  accepting  a  gift  from  a 
friend.  The  subtle  instinct  of  the  urchin,  for  surely  he  never 
learned  from  botany  how  good  to  the  taste  were  its  twigs,  leads 


I'la'U'eriiig-  branch .         Fruiting  branch. 


Scale  of  fruit.         Nutlet. 

PLATE  XCIII,     SWEET  BIRCH,     Belula  leiita. 

(178) 


PLATE  XCII.     CANOE  BIRCH.     Bctiila  papyrifcra. 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,    BY  FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL.  179 

him  to  spend  many  an  hour  under  its  shade.  He  chats  to  his 
companion  about  his  struggles  with  the  trout  or  of  the  mischief 
the  squirrels  have  done  to  the  leaf-buds,  and  he  prides  himself 
upon  locating  a  borer  as  surely  as  he  can  scent  the  advance  of 
spring.  The  sweet  birch  knows  too  the  stride  of  the  axe-man  ; 
for  its  fine,  dark  reddish  wood  is  valuable.  It  receives  a  beau- 
tiful polish  and  is  strong  and  heavy.  As  a  substitute  for  black 
cherry  it  is  made  into  furniture.  In  fact  the  appearance  of 
the  tree  is  such  that  it  might  readily  be  mistaken  for  a  cherry 
tree.  Birch  oil  which  is  an  important  article  of  commerce  is 
distilled  from  the  foliage  and  graceful  branches  of  the  tree.  It 
is  the  same  as  the  oil  of  wintergreen  which  is  taken  from  the 
quaint  little  plant,  Gaiiltheria procwiibens. 

YELLOW  BIRCH.     GREY  BIRCH.     {Plate  XCIV.) 

Bctula  I II tea. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

BircJt.         Fyruiiiidal:  branches,     40  go/Vt-/.     New  England soiiik-  April,  May. 

long,  slender.  -ward  to  Tenn. 

Bar/c  :  light  yellowish  grey;  marked  horizontally  and  sejjarating  and  peel- 
ing like  shavings.  Both  the  bark  and  the  greyish-brown  twigs  have  a  slightly 
aromatic  sweet  taste.  Lcaz'i-s :  simple;  alternate;  with  slender  downv,  petioles, 
often  in  pairs;  ovate,  with  pointed  apex  and  narrowed  and  ronnded  or  rarely 
sub-cordate  base,  coarsely  and  unequally  serrate ;  ribs,  straight  and  conspicuous. 
Dull  green  above,  downy  below  and  becoming  smooth  at  maturity.  Stavihiate 
ca(/:iiis:  yellowish  green  ;  three  to  four  inches  long.  Pistillate  calluns  :  short; 
sessile.  Nitts:  oval  ;  broad;  wider  than  the  wings. 

It  is  frequently  said  by  many  that  they  never  notice  the 
bark  of  a  tree  or  its  leaves  ;  that  it  appeals  to  them  entirely 
by  its  general  outline  and  presence.  Again  others  observe 
these  things  almost  to  the  exclusion  of  the  individual  character 
of  the  tree.  The  bark  of  the  yellow  birch,  however,  is  one 
that  should  attract  the  attention  of  all  ;  for  it  is  particularlv 
unique  and  beautiful.  It  is  golden  with  a  silver  sheen  and  the 
separating  shreds  curl  about  it  like  the  ribbon  decorations  of 
some  fantastic  lady.  An  air  of  delicacy  also  makes  the  tree 
quite  distinctive  from  those  among  which  it  grows. 

In  Canada  and  New  England  this  birch  is  one  of  the  largest 


Fru  itine  bra  nek , 


Flo%vering  branch. 


PLATE  XCIV.     YELLOW  BIRCH.     Betuhi  hitea. 
(i8o) 


TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL.  i8i 

trees  that  are  not  evergreen,  and  there,  as  in  New  York  state, 
it  is  valued  for  its  excellent  timber.  The  light  reddish-brown 
wood  has  a  fine,  satin-like  surface  and  is  considerably  made 
into  furniture,  boxes  and  many  small  articles.  It  is  also  used 
for  fuel.  As  the  tree  occurs  southward  it  is  small,  or  it  becomes 
a  shrub,  A  large  amount  of  moisture  is  required  by  it  that  it 
may  thrive  well. 

HAZEL-NUT.     FILBERT.     {Flats  XCV.) 
Corylus  Americdna. 


FAMILY 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE 

TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Birch. 

Broad,  spreading. 

4-8 /f^/. 

Maine  westward  atid  to 
Fla.  and  Texas. 

.^  I  arch,  April. 
Ju/y,  August. 

Branches  :  greyish  or  pinkish  brown.  Twigs  :  pubescent,  with  pinkish  hairs. 
Leaves  :  simple  ;  alternate;  with  hairy  petioles  ;  ovate  or  almost  rounded,  with 
pointed  apex  and  slightly  cordate  or  blunt  at  the  base;  irregularly  and  doubly 
serrate;  dark  green  and  almost  glabrous  above,  paler  and  pubescent  beneath. 
Stamiitate  catkins:  long;  solitary.  Fruit:  growing  in  the  base  of  an  involucre 
which  is  composed  of  two  broad,  leaf-like  bracts,  extending  far  above  the  nut 
and  deeply  cut  at  the  top  ;  green  ;  pubescent.  Nut :  golden  brown  ;  ahnost 
round ;  shell,  hard.     Kernel:  edible  ;  sweet. 

Nutting  days  are  truly  among  the  best  of  all  the  year,  and 
who  that  has  been  brought  up  in  the  country  cannot  recall 
some  dense  thicket  or  low  stone  wall  by  which  these  bushes 
grew.  The  filberts,  as  the  nuts  are  often  called,  yield  up 
readily  their  treasures.  One  sharp  blow  on  the  smooth  shell 
will  sever  it  in  two,  and  the  round,  solid  meat  then  rolls  inno- 
cently out.     It  has  only  to  be  picked  up  and  eaten. 

One  of  the  first  signs  that  the  season  is  advancing  is  to  find 
the  hazel  catkins  hanging  loosely  and  with  their  stigmas  well  out. 
They  then  soon  shed  abundantly  their  pollen.  Even  during 
the  winter  the  staminate  flower-buds  shine  brightly  on  the 
bushes;  but  the  demure  pistillate  ones  lie  hidden  under  their 
scaly  buds.  They  cling  mostly,  however,  to  the  summit  of  the 
branches  where  the  golden  dust  can  find  them  and  the  long 
rays  of  sunshine  linger  upon  them  lovingly. 


Buds,  catkins  and  fruit. 


PLATE  XCV.     HAZEL-NUT.     Coryhis  Americana. 


FAMILY 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE 

Birch. 

Erect,  stiff. 

\-'iJeet. 

Nova  Scotia  southward 
and  wfstiDard. 

TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL.  183 

BEAKED  HAZEL=NUT.     {Plate  XC VI. ) 

Cory  I  lis  rostrata. 

TIME  OF  BLOOM 

April.,  J\lay. 
Fruit:  Aug.,  Sept. 

Branches:  light  brown;  glabrous  or  often  pubescent;  slender.  Twigs: 
nearly  glabrous.  Leaves:  simple;  alternate;  with  slender  petioles;  ovate, 
or  ovate-oblong;  pointed  at  the  apex  and  slightly  cordate  or  blunt  at  the  base; 
doubly  serrate;  bright  green  above;  glabrous;  paler  underneath  and  nearly 
glabrous;  thin.  Stainina/e Jiozoers  :  growing  in  catkins  ;  the  single  flowers  un- 
der each  bract  with  four  stamens  divided  so  as  to  produce  eight  anthers.  Fis- 
tillate  JiLnvers :  growing  in  dense  spikes  and  having  two  flowers  under  each  scale. 
Fniit:  growing  in  the  base  of  an  involucre  which  is  prolonged  into  a  curved 
tube,  cut  at  the  summit  and  covered  with  bristly  yellow  hairs.  A'ttt :  brown; 
ovoid  or  ovate.     A'eniel:  edible;  sweet. 

Especially  when  in  fruit  is  this  species  of  hazel-nut  readily 
distinguished  from  the  common  one  ;  for  although  they  both 
have  strangely  fashioned  involucres  that  of  Corylus  rostrata 
extends  into  a  long,  curious  beak,  and  is  moreover  covered  with 
reddish  tipped  bristles  which,  when  the  nuts  are  being  gathered, 
penetrate  the  skin  as  readily  as  spun  glass.  This  involucre  is 
indeed  a  most  interesting  contrivance.  Its  future  existence, 
as  can  be  seen  under  a  microscope,  is  foretold  by  a  tiny  ring 
about  the  young  ovary.  Small  as  it  is,  it  has  a  strong  deter- 
mination to  grow  and  develops  to  some  extent  even  when  one  or 
neither  of  the  pistillate  flow.ers  has  been  fertilized  and  there- 
fore does  not  proceed  to  grow.  This  seems  to  be  mere  presump- 
tion on  its  part;  as  its  field  of  usefulness  does  then  not  exist, 
and  it  but  raises  false  hopes  in  the  hearts  of  those  seeking  the 
nuts.  How  much  more  are  those  appreciated  that  practice  no 
deception,  but  at  maturity  split  open  as  though  proudly  to 
show  the  fruit  they  have  guarded. 

LARQE=TOOTH ED  ASPEN.     POPLAR.     {Plate  XCVII.) 

Pop  11  Ills  gra  ndidenta  ta . 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

IVilloiv.    Head,  t2arro-a\-  branches,    ^o-Zo/cel.    Nova  Scotia  southward      March,  April, 
crooked  and  spreading.  to  North  Carolina 

and  Tenn. 

Bark:  dark,  reddish  brown;  irregularly  furrowed;  when  young,  greenish 
grey.     Z<faz'<fj:  simple;  alternate;  broadly  ovate;  with  short-pointed   apex  and 


Involucre  o/iuit.  Pistillate  J^ower. 

PLATE  XCVI.     BEAKED  HAZEL-NUT.     Corylus  rostraia, 
(184) 


Stiiiiiinate  ii>ui pistillate  brunches. 


Eiiiar^eil  /iiiit. 

PLATE  XCVII.     LARGE-TOOTHED  ASPEN.     Popiihis  <rrandiih-ntata. 

(185) 


x86  TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL. 

rounded  or  squared  at  the  base;  coarsely  and  irregularly  dentate,  ihe  sinuses 
rounded  ;  ribs,  distinct;  dark  green  above;  paler  below  and  covered  when  young 
with  a  silky  wool  ;  glabrous  at  maturity  ;  the  petiole  flattened,  /y^w^-j-;  dioe- 
cious ;  growing  in  long,  often  curving  catkins  ;  the  scales  of  the  staniinate  ones 
from  five  to  six-cleft,  sparingly  fringed.  The  staminate  trees  bloom  earlier 
than  the  pistillate  ones. 

As  the  specific  name  of  this  tree  implies,  its  characteristic 
feature  is  the  large,  coarse  teeth  of  its  leaf  margins.  And  the 
link  of  kinship  between  it  and  the  delicate  Popidus  tremuloiiks 
is  discernible  even  through  the  ruggedness  of  its  foliage.  As 
the  young  leaves  of  the  poplars  unfold  they  have  all  a  silvery 
sheen  that  in  the  case  of  the  willows  is  golden.  Their 
innumerable  seeds  also,  when  they  begin  to  unloosen  them- 
selves from  their  long  clusters  and  fly  about,  tint  the  tree  and  fill 
the  air  with  a  silvery  whiteness.  In  the  autumn  the  leaves  of 
this  species  turn  to  such  a  clear,  bright  yellow  that  a  luminous 
glow  is  radiated  by  the  tree  to  a  considerable  distance.  We  may 
seek  to  find  it  in  the  deep,  rich  soil  of  woods  or  approaching 
the  borders  of  swamps. 

The  wood  of  Populus  grandidentata  is  soft  and  not  generally 
regarded  as  being  of  much  value.  It  is  made  into  wood-pulp 
and  later  into  paper. 

TULIP  TREE.     WHITE=WOOD.     {Plate  XCV/II) 

LiriodendroJi  Tulipifera. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Magnolia.      Tall.,  rounded;  branches,    6ct-igo_/'eet,     Vermont  and  Rhode  May. 

spreading.  Island  to  Florida      Fruit:  Sept.,  Oct. 

and  ivestivard. 

Bark :  reddish  brown  or  grey ;  furrowed.  Branches :  curved  and  marked 
with  narrow  rings;  aromatic.  Leaves  :  simple  ;  alternate  ;  long  petioled ;  very 
broadly  ovate  or  nearly  orbicular  ;  broadly  notched  at  the  apex,  rounded  or 
cordate  at  the  base  and  having  four  or  more  lobes,  the  sinuses  between  them 
rounded.  Dark  green  and  shiny  above,  ])aler  below.  Flo'coers  :  iwo  inches 
high  ;  cup-sliaped  ;  erect  and  growing  on  stout  peduncles.  Petals  :  obovate  ; 
greenish  yellow  ;  orange  coloured  within.  Se/>a/s  ;  reflexd.  .SArw^/w.' numer- 
ous and  growing  in  ranks  upon  the  receptacle.  Pistils :  growing  in  a  Cf)lumn- 
like  body  upon  the  receptacle.  Fruit :  about  three  inches  long,  a  cone  of  dry, 
oblong  and  acute  carpels. 

There  is  something  to  make  one  tremble  in  the  gigantic 
proportions,  the  tall,  column-like  trunk  and  the  strangely  cut 


II.     TULIP  TREE.     Liriodendron  TuHpifcra, 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,    BY  FREDERICK  A.   STOKES  COMPANY 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  IxN  RICH  SOIL. 


187 


leaves  of  this  tree  when  it  is  approached  for  the  first  time, 
and  the  fancy  is  bred  that  the  world  would  be  a  very  different 
place  if  trees  should  ever  lose 
their  meek  defenselessness  and 
strut  about  arranging  things 
to  suit  themselves.  Man 
would  appear  very  small  then, 
while  the  tulip  tree  might  be 
the  king  of  the  globe.  It  is  a 
tree  that  at  all  times  is  readily 
recognised;  but  in  the  spring, 
when  it  is  covered  with  its 
tulip-like  flowers,  it  is  truly  a 
surprising  sight.  As  freely 
and  unconsciously  the  great 
structure  throws  out  its  bloom 
as  though  it  were  some  lively, 
wayside  flower.  From  the  col- 
oured illustration  the  imagina- 
tion can  picture  the  effect  so 
great  a  number  of  the  flowers 
would  produce.  In  cultiva- 
tion the  tree  is  a  great  favour- 
ite and  has,  especially  when 
young,  a  high-bred  expression. 
It  is  hardy,  grows  rapidly  and  becomes  without  doubt  one  of 
the  largest  and  most  beautiful  of  the  American  forest.  Often 
when  growing  in  the  "  open  "  it  is  clothed  to  the  ground.  As 
a  timber  tree  it  is  valuable,  and  is  well  adapted  for  making  the 
curved  panels  in  carriages.  By  the  aborigines  it  was  used  for 
the  frames  of  their  canoes.  In  many  parts  of  the  South  the 
name  yellow  poplar  clings  to  the  tree.  It  originated  because 
the  leaves  have  long  petioles  that  aid  them  to  tremble  in  the 
wind.  It  is  however  not  a  desirable  one  and  should  be  rejected. 
At  Craggy   Mountain,  twelve  miles   north-east  of   Asheville, 


L iriodendron  Ttilipi/era. 


x88 


TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL. 


North  Carolina,  there  is  standing  a  tulip  tree  that  is  thought 
to  be  the  largest  one  in  America,  In  girth  it  is  thirty-one  feet 
at  a  distance  of  ten  feet  from  the  ground,  and  it  stands  up- 
wards of  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high.  In  that  rugged 
place,  at  an  elevation  of  three  thousand  feet  above  the  sea 
level,  it  raises  a  clear  and  straight  shaft  which  is  also  hollow. 
What  is  the  tree's  history,  no  one  knows. 


WHITE  OAK.     {Plate  XCIX.) 
Querctis  alba. 


HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

to-Zo/eetor        Maitie  to  Ontario  and  May.  June, 

higher.       southward  and  2uest7vard.   Fruit:  Sejit.,  Oct. 


FAMILY  SHAPE 

Beech.  Head,  broad; 

branches,  spreading. 

Bark :  light  grey  or  nearly  white  ;  less  rough  than  that  of  most  oaks  ;  often 
scaly  in  old  trees  and  breaking  off  in  thin  sheets.  Leaves \s\mp\t;  alternate; 
obovate  ;  pinnately-lobed,  wedge-shaped  at  the  base  and  with  from  three  to 
nine  lobes  ;  broad  and  rounded,  with  coarsely  notched  or  entire  edges.  Simt- 
.tes :  narrow  ;  rounded.  Bright  green  above,  paler  below;  at  maturity  glabrous  ; 
variable.  Acorns  :  a.xillary  ;  growing  in  pairs  on  short  peduncles,  or  sessile. 
C«/ :  saucer-shaped  ;  shallow;  rough,  with  appressed  scales.  yV«/;  green, 
turning  to  chestnut-brown  ;  lustrous  ;  oblong,  from  three-quarters  to  an  inch 
long  ;  edible  ;  sweet. 

The  ancients  made  oak  trees 
objects  of  love  and  reverence,  and 
they  also  attributed  to  them  the 
mystic  power  to  foretell  or  advise 
about  coming  events.  The  oldest 
oracle  of  the  Greeks  was  that  of 
Jupiter  at  Dodona  in  Epirus.  It 
was  believed  that  two  black  doves 
simultaneously  flew  from  Thebes  in 
Egypt.  One  alighted  in  an  oak 
grove  at  Dodona  and  in  a  human 
voice  proclaimed  that  an  oracle  of 
Jupiter  should  there  be  established 
by  the  people.  The  other  dove 
carried  a  similar  message  to  the  temple  of  Jupiter  Ammon  in 
the  Lybian  oasis.     Accordingly,  the  oracles  were  set  up,  and 


Qudrcus  dlba. 


PLATE  XCIX.     WHITE  OAK.      Oufrcux  alba. 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,    BY  FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA, 


TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL.  189 

the  priests  in  the  temples  interpreted  the  responses  that  were 
conveyed  to  them  by  the  motion  of  the  trees  in  the  wind. 
The  lover  in  Tennyson's  English  Idyll,  "  The  Talking  Oak," 
exclaims  in  gratitude  for  the  knowledge  it  has  told  him  of 
his  sweetheart  Olivia  and  in  reference  to  the  ancient  oracle  : — 

"  And  I  will  work  in  prose  and  rhyme, 

And  praise  thee  more  in  both 
Than  bard  has  honour'd  beech  or  lime. 

Or  that  Thessalian  growth, 
In  which  the  swarthy  ring  dove  sat. 

And  mystic  sentence  spoke  ; 
And  more  than  England  honours  that, 

Thy  famous  brother  oak, 
Wherein  the  younger  Charles  abode 

Till  all  the  paths  were  dim. 
And  far  below  the  Roundliead  rode. 

And  humm'd  a  surly  hymn." 

Hercules  we  must  also  remember  carried  an  oaken  club. 

Of  the  genus,  Quercus  alba  is  one  of  the  most  stately.  It 
seems  odd,  in  earliest  spring  to  see  the  great,  grey  thing 
putting  forth  leaves  as  tender  tinted  and  pink  as  many  a  shy, 
woodland  flower.  In  their  second  childhood, — that  is,  in  the 
late  autumn, — the  leaves  again  become  a  ruddy  hue,  deep  and 
vinous  ;  and  after  withering,  drop  from  the  trees  at  the  be- 
ginning of  winter.  Throughout  their  course  of  existence  they 
are  very  variable  on  different  trees,  and  often  two  or  three 
distinct  forms  are  jDresented. 

The  white  oak  is  one  of  the  very  valuable  timber  trees  of 
North  America  and  is  imported  as  staves  in  large  quantities 
to  Europe.  In  ship-building  and  in  the  manufacturing  of  car- 
riages it  has  ail  important  place. 


PLATE  C.     RED  OAK.     Qnercus  rubra. 
(190) 


TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL. 


191 


RED  OAK.     {Plate  C) 

Quircus  r libra. 


FAMILY  SHAPE 

Beech.         Round-topped: 
branches,  stout. 


HEIGHT 

50-80- 1 50  yv*"/. 


RANGE 
Netu  Brunswick  south- 
ward and  westward. 


TIME  OF  BLOOM 

May,  June. 
Fruit:  Oct.,  Nov. 


Bark  :  reddish  brown,  smooth  for  an  oak,  but  rough  and  broken  into  scale- 
like plates.  Leaves :  simple  ;  alternate  ;  with  smooth,  yellowish-green  petioles 
from  one  to  one  and  a  half  inches  long  and  oblong  or  obovate,  rather  rounded 
or  wedge-shaped  at  the  base  and  having  from  nine  to  thirteen  lobes  which  are 
irregularly  toothed  and  bristle-tipped  at  the  ends;  the  sinuses  between  them 
narrowed,  rounded  and  extending  about  half-way  to  the  midrib.  Dark  green 
and  glabrous  on  the  upper  surface,  pale  yellow-green  below  with  rust-coloured 
hairs  in  the  angle  of  the  ribs;  thin.  Staminate  floiuers:  growing  in  long,  pubes- 
cent catkins.  Pistillate  ones  :  growing  on  glabrous  peduncles.  Acorns  :  ^xo^- 
ing  on  a  short,  thick  neck  or  almost  sessile.  Cup  :  flat  ;  saucer-shayed  ;  finely 
scaled.    A^«/;  sometimes  an  inch  long;  ovoid  ;  bitter. 

When  the  red  oak  is  seen  growing  in  favourable  circum- 
stances the  effect  that  it  produces  is  admirable.  Usually 
its  foliage  is  dense,  but  about 
it  there  is  no  semblance  of 
heaviness.  So  small  a  thing 
as  that  the  lobes  of  the  leaves 
are  unequal  in  size  and  have 
bristle-pointed  teeth  is  quite 
sufficient  to  give  to  the  great 
tree  a  light,  pleasing  appear- 
ance. But  in  outline  the 
leaves  are  very  variable.  They 
turn  in  the  autumn  to  a  deep 
red  or  orange  and  are  quite 
without  the  brilliancy  that  is 
associated  with  the  scarlet 
oak,  page  244.  The  acorns 
are  a  good  index  to  the  spe- 
cies; for  the  nut  looks  wonder- 
fully large  and  out  of  propor- 
tion to  the  shallow  cup.  They 
are  among  those  that  require 
two  years  in  which  to    mature. 


Que  re  us  riibra. 

The   reddish-brown    wood    of 


192  TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL. 

the  tree  is  coarsely  grairied  and  thought,  in  the  east,  to  be  of 
comparatively  little  value  on  account  of  its  porous  texture.  As 
it  occurs  westward,  however,  it  is  often  found  to  be  of  better 
quality.     In  cooperage  it  is  used  and  also  to  make  clap-boards. 

At  Thornedale,  at  Millbrook,  N.  Y.,  there  is  to-day  standing 
a  red  oak,  the  girth  of  which  is  twenty-two  feet  and  four 
inches  at  a  distance  of  about  five  feet  from  the  ground.  It  is 
a  venerable  tree  and  remains  like  a  great,  green,  trembling  cloud 
upon  the  landscape.  "  It  was  here  in  father's  time,  and  his 
father  knew  it  for  many  years,"  is  said  of  it,  and  its  age  is 
estimated  to  be  somewhat  over  two  hundred  years. 

For  the  reason  that  the  red  oak  adapts  itself  readily  to  vari- 
ous climatic  conditions  it  has  been  much  planted.  In  Europe 
it  has  thrived  better  than  any  other  one  of  the  American 
species,  many  being  there  on  record  that  are  over  a  century  old. 

"  Then  here's  to  the  oak,  the  brave  old  oak, 
Who  stands  in  his  pride  alone  ; 
And  still  flourished  he,  a  hale  green  tree, 
When  a  hundred  years  are  gone  !  " 

— H.  L.  Chorley. 

FLOWERING   DOGWOOD.      CORNELIAN   TREE. 

{Plate  CI.) 
Cdy)nis  florida. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Dogwood.     RoU7Ziiecl;  branches,     11-4,0  feet.     Neiv  England  to  M inne-         April-June. 

spreading.  sola  and  westward.  Fruit:   October. 

Bark :  blackish  or  dark  red-brown  ;  roughly  ridged.  Leaves  :  simple  ;  oppo- 
site ;  petioled  and  mostly  clustered  at  tlie  ends  of  the  branches  ;  elliptical,  with 
)ointed  or  taper-pointed  apex  and  pointed  base,  often  unequal  at  the  sides, 
'/^itire  ;  netted-veined  ;  with  whitish  and  distinct  ribs  ;  bright  green  above, 
.(hibrous  or  slightly  pubescent  ;  ]Daler  underneath  and  pubescent.  Flowers: 
green  ;  tiiiy ;  perfect ;  growing  in  a  rounded,  central  cluster  and  surrounded  by 
a  showy  involucre  of  four  white,  obcordate,  petal-like  bracts,  notched  at  the 
apex  and  tinted  with  pink.     Fniil :  an  oval  bunch  of  bright  red,  ovoid  berries. 

"Where  cornels  arch  their  cool  boughs 
o'er  beds  of  wintergreen." 

— Bryant. 

There  are  a  few  among  us  that  do  not  know  and  appreciate  the 


PLATE  CI.     FLOWERING   DOGWOOD.     Conius florida. 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,    BY   FREDERICK  A.   STOKES   COMPANY, 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


PLATE  Cll.     ALTERNATE-LEAVED  DOGWOOD.     Comics  alter mjolia. 

(193)  


194 


TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL. 


beauty  of  the  dogwood  when  its  bloom  whitens  the  woods  and 
banks  in  early  spring.  The  snowy  involucre  of  the  flowers  un- 
folds before  the  leaves  are  fully  developed  and  can  therefore 
be  seen  from  a  great  distance  waving 
its  cheery  message.  Spring  has  re- 
turned, it  proclaims,  and  this  is  a  story 
that  never  grows  old.  The  foliage  of 
this  tree  also  contributes  much  to  the 
brilliancy  of  the  autumn  colouring. 
Then  little  birds  are  seen  capering  in 
and  out  among  its  gay  leaves  and 
alighting  on  twigs  that  bend  low  with 
the  weight  of  their  round,  plump  bodies. 
They  greedily  eat  the  fruit  and  are 
good  agents  in  distributing  its  seeds. 

In  the  south,  Cornus  florida  attains  more  ample  dimensions 
than  it  does  northward,  where  it  frequently  occurs  as  a  shrub. 
Country  people  watch  the  tree  with  especial  interest,  for  it  is 
credited  with  coming  into  leaf  at  just  the  right  time  for  plant- 
ing Indian  corn.  The  bitter  bark  of  its  roots  contains  a  powerful 
substance  similar  to  quinine,  and  it  is  used  as  a  tonic.  The 
wood  is  closely  grained  and  strong,  with  a  beautiful  surface 
like  satin. 


Cdrn  us  Jioridn . 


ALTERNATE-LEAVED  DOGWOOD.  CORNEL.  {Plate  CII) 

Cornus  aliernifolia. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Dogwood.      Flat-topped,       lo-yy  feet.      New  Brunswick  westward  and        May,  June, 
bushy.  southward  along  the  AUeghanies.      Fruit:  Oct. 

Bark:  reddish  brown;  smooth,  or  broken  irregularly  in  narrow  ridges. 
Branches:  yellowish  green;  smooth,  and  streaked  with  white  or  light  brown. 
Leaves :  simple  ;  alternate ;  slender  petioled,  and  crowded  near  the  ends  of  the 
branches;  elliptical;  entire;  yellowish  green  and  glabrous  above;  paler  and 
slightly  pubescent  underneath  between  the  curved  ribs.  Flowers :  small;  cream 
coloured  ;  growing  in  flat,  open  cymes,  and  having  no  involucre.  Calyx  :  with 
four,  minutely-toothed  sepals.  Corolla  :  of  four  white,  lanceolate  petals.  Sta- 
metis :  four.  Pistil :  one.  Frttit :  many  dark  blue  berries,  growing  on  reddish 
petioles. 

There  is  a  freshness  and  vigour  about  the  leaves  of  this  dog- 


CATALPA.      Cataip.i  (  \italpa. 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,    By  FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL.  195 

wood  which  can  hardly  fail  to  impress  us,  and  they  have  a 
strange  little  way  of  puffing  up  in  places  as  though  the  type  of 
conventional  flatness  had  been  routed  from  their  household. 
Popularly,  it  has  been  slated  that  a  first  glance  at  this  tree  is 
prone  to  give  rise  to  just  a  little  uncertainty  as  to  whether  its 
leaves  are  opposite  in  growth  or  alternate.  The  specimens, 
however,  that  were  examined  to  aid  in  writing  this  description, 
had  no  such  pernicious  inclinations  to  lead  one  astray.  The 
growth  of  their  leaves  was  all  distinctively  alternate.  The 
blossoms  have  no  beautiful  involucres  as  have  the  flowering  dog- 
woods, but  a  pretty  showing  is  made  by  the  many,  tiny  flowers 
that  are  crowded  together  in  the  cymes.  In  the  autumn  the 
foliage  turns  to  yellow  and  scarlet,  and  the  bright  blue  berries 
dangle  from  coral-coloured  stems. 

C.  circiiia/a,  round-leaved  dogwood  or  cornel,  does  not  attain 
a  dignity  beyond  that  of  a  shrub  of  from  three  to  ten  feet  high. 
Its  branches  appear  to  be  covered  with  wafts,  and  they  are 
streaked  with  white  or  green.  The  leaves  are  opposite,  oval 
and  pubescent  underneath.  The  flowers  grow  in  very  dense, 
flat  cymes.  In  almost  any  kind  of  soil  the  shrub  will  grow, 
although  it  clings  with  some  persistence  to  the  edges  and  paths 
of  woods.     From  its  bark  cornine  is  largely  extracted. 

C.stolonifera,  red-osier  dogwood  and  C.  candidissiina,  panicled 
dogwood,  are  both  conspicuous  shrubs  along  streams  and  in 
damp  thickets.  The  twigs  of  the  former  species  are  bright  red  ; 
those  of  the  latter  are  ashy  in  hue. 

CATALPA.     INDIAN  BEAN.     CANDLE-TREE. 

BEAN  TREE.     {Flute  CIII.) 

Catdlpa  Catdlpa. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Trumpet-creeper.       Head,  broad,  roundid ;        20-30-40       Gulf  states  June,  July. 

branches,  spreading.  Jeet.         northward.         Fruit:  Sept.,  Oct. 

Bark:  dark  grey ;  broken  into  small,  flaky  pieces.  Leaves:  simple;  oppo- 
site ;  with  long,  round  petioles  ;  broadly  ovate,  pointed  at  the  apex  or  rarely 
three-lobed,  and  slightly  cordate  at  the  base;  entire;  light  green  above  and 
glabrous;    pubescent   underneath,    especially   so    along    the   ribs;    peculiarly 


196 


TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL. 


Catdlpa  Catdlpa. 


scented.  Flowers:  white,  mottled  with  purple  inside  and  spotted  with  yellow; 
fragrant ;  growing  in  an  erect,  terminal  panicle.  Calyx:  irregular,  or  two- 
lipped.  Corolla  :  campanulate;  two-lipped,  with  five  spreading,  crimped  lobes. 
Perfect  stamens:  two;  rarely  four  in  two  pairs.  Sterile  stamens:  three ;  rarely  one. 
Pistil:  one.  Pods  :  six  to  twelve  inches  long;  linear;  hanging,  and  containing 
winged  and  fragrant  seeds. 

The  catalpa,  as  the  aborigines  called  it,  is  one  of  our  most 
attractive  trees,  and  it  is  now  much  seen  throughout  the  middle 
states.  Before  being  so  widely  natural- 
ized it  was  confined  to  the  south.  Until 
taken  in  the  hand  and  closely  inspected 
the  beauty  of  its  blossoms  is  hardly  appre- 
ciated. But  many  of  our  choicest  exotics 
are  not  more  exquisite.  The  broad, 
vivid  green  leaves  form  for  them  a  plain 
and  artistic  background.  Within  the  pear- 
shaped,  glossy  and  reddish  buds  these 
lovely  blossoms  are  compressed  into 
round  balls,  in  much  the  same  way  that 
an  accordion  is  folded  together.  It  is  quite  interesting  to 
press  a  large  bud  between  the  thumb  and  fingers,  when  it 
will  divide  into  the  two-lipped  calyx,  and  the  petals  can  then 
be  stretched  out  to  their  fullest  extent.  When  they  are  allowed 
to  unfold  naturally  the  stamens  and  pistil  are  the  first  to  push 
themselves  upward  from  their  cramped  position,  and  as  they  do 
so  they  bear  along  with  them  the  pliable  corolla.  Its  lobes  are 
the  last  of  all  to  open  and  admit  the  insects  within  its  richly 
coloured  centre.  The  crinkling  of  the  lobes  is  a  feature  that 
the  flower  never  loses,  and  which  is  owing  to  their  former  posi- 
tion in  the  bud.  The  pods,  especially  those  of  young  trees  in 
cultivation,  grow  very  long.  When  they  have  become  dried  and 
brown,  little  country  boys  are  credited  with  finding  them  good 
to  smoke.  Their  flavour,  however,  is  very  strong,  like  that  of 
weeds,  and  they  burn  the  throat  most  horribly. 

C.  speciosa,  larger  Indian  bean,  often  reaches  one  hundred  and 
twenty  feet  high  and  has  longer  pods  than  the  preceding  one. 


TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL. 


197 


It  is  a  more  valuable  species  but  is  seldom  found  outside  of 
its  natural  range  which  is  in  the  vicinity  of  southern  Illinois 
and  the  neighbouring  states.  Its  bark  and  seeds  are  used 
medicinally. 


SUGAR  HAPLE.     HARD  flAPLE.     ROCK  HAPLE. 

SUGAR-TREE.      {Plate  Ciy.) 

Acer  Sdcchariwi. 


FAMILY 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE 

TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Maple. 

Dome-like^ 

yi-120  feet. 

New  FoundUind  southward 

April,  May. 

rounded. 

and  weitward. 

Fruit:   Sept. 

Bark :  light  grey ;  rather  smooth,  becoming  rough  and  scaly  with  age. 
Leaves  :  simple  ;  oj^posite ;  with  long  petioles  ;  rounded  in  outline,  squared 
or  cordate  at  the  base,  with  three,  five  or  seven  coarsely  cut  and  sharply  pointed 
lobes,  the  lower  pair  smaller  than  the  other  three,  and  at  times,  entire;  sinuses, 
rounded.  Rich  green  and  glabrous  above,  lighter  below  and  pubescent,  espe- 
cially so  along  the  ribs.  Flowers:  greenish  yellow;  growing  on  drooping 
pedicels  in  sessile,  abundant  corymbs,  and  appearing  with  the  leaves.  Calyx : 
bell-shaped;  fringed.  Petals:  none.  Samaras:  greenish  yellow;  drooping 
on  slender,  hairy  pedicels;  the  wings  broad  and  slightly  spreading;  about  one 
inch  long. 

This  is  one  of  the  very 
good  trees.  It  is  so  perfect 
in  outline,  so  beautiful  and 
useful.  Perhaps  it  is  most 
widely  known  through  its 
sap,  from  which  is  made  the 
main  quantity  of  maple 
sugar.  A  square  block  of 
this  well-known  article  of 
commerce,  however,  can 
hardly  disperse  the  same 
love  that  is  felt  for  the  tree 
by  those  living  in  its  neigh- 
bourhood, and  who  look 
eagerly  forward  to  the  time 
when  sugar  is  made.  Then 
is  the  tree's  yearly  festival.  Acer  Sdccharum. 


Enlarged  Jlower.  Samara. 

PLATE  CIV,     SUGAR  MAPLE.     Acer  Sacchariim. 
(198) 


TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL.  199 

In  earliest  spring,  as  soon  as  the  sap  begins  to  flow  freely,  the 
trees  are  tapped,  and  a  wooden  quill  or  trough  is  inserted  in 
the  opening.  At  its  other  end  is  placed  a  bucket.  The  sap 
then  is  averted  in  its  upward  course  and  directed  into  the 
trough  from  where  it  trickles  slowly  down  into  the  bucket. 
About  seventy  drops  fall  every  minute, — that  is,  under  favour- 
able circumstances  and  when  the  tree  is  well  warmed  by  the 
sunshine.  This  flow  of  the  sap  continues  about  three  weeks. 
There  is  then  a  gathering  of  the  country  about  to  enjoy  the 
"  sugaring  off."  Great  fires  are  built  in  the  woods,  and  over 
them  kettles  containing  the  sap  are  hung.  This  is  the  signal 
for  a  general  frolic  among  the  girls  and  men  of  the  village,  al- 
though stirring,  tasting  and  sampling  the  syrup  are  not  forgot- 
ten. It  must  be  taken  from  the  fire  at  just  the  time  that  it  has 
turned  to  sugar.  In  certain  parts  of  the  country  as  in  Ver- 
mont, where  the  making  of  maple  sugar  is  a  large  industry,  it 
commands  great  attention  and  is  done  after  the  most  scientific 
methods.  In  New  York  state  there  is  a  belt  which  includes 
Schoharie,  Otsego  and  Delaware  counties  and  embraces  Wayne 
and  Susquehanna  counties  in  Pennsylvania  that  is  yearly  be- 
coming more  famous  for  its  production  of  maple  sugar.  In 
fact,  the  last  census  shows  the  yield  to  be  a  little  below  one  hun- 
dred thousand  pounds.  A  tree  of  average  size  produces  yearly, 
it  has  been  estimated,  from  four  to  eight  pounds  of  sugar. 

The  wood  of  the  sugar  maple  is  more  valuable  than  that  of 
any  other  of  its  genus.  It  is  reddish  brown,  heavy  and  strong, 
and  capable  of  receiving  a  high  polish.  From  it  shoe  lasts, 
pegs  and  a  large  amount  of  furniture  are  made.  When  it  is 
burned  for  fuel  its  ashes  even  are  valuable,  for  they  contain  a 
considerable  amount  of  potash. 

Bird's-eye  maple  and  curled  maple  are  so  called  from  differ- 
ent conditions  of  the  wood  which  arise  from  peculiar  undula- 
tions of  its  fibre. 

A.  nigrum,  black  sugar  maple,  often  grows  along  streams  or 
inhabits  river  bottom  lands.     It  is  known  from  the  preceding 


Enlarged  Jlo-,. 


PLATE  GV.    SrRIPED  MAPLE.     -Acer  Pennsylvanicum. 

-  "  (200)  -    -.-■-- 


TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL.  201 

species  by  its  almost  black  bark  and  the  formation  of  its  leaves, 
which  is,  however,  very  variable.  Usually  the  lobes  are  severely 
cut  and  have  few  or  no  teeth.  The  sinuses  are  long  and  nar- 
row, and  on  both  sides  the  leaf  is  of  the  same  colour.  Even 
when  old  it  retains  a  soft  down  underneath.  When  the  base  of 
the  leaf  is  heart-shaped  the  lobes  not  infrequently  overlap 
each  other.  Of  the  samaras,  the  wings  are  rather  wide,  but 
hardly  more  so  at  the  bottom  than  at  the  top.  From  the  sap 
of  this  tree  also  sugar  is  made. 


STRIPED  MAPLE.    GOOSEFOOT  MAPLE.  MOOSEWOOD. 

{Plate  CV.) 
Acer  Pemisylvdnicicm. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Maple.       Slender:    hra7iches,        10-35 yi-fi'.       Nova  Scotia  ivestward.  May,  June, 

upright.  southward  to  Georgia 

and  Teiniessee. 

Bark:  reddish  brown  or  greenish  ;  conspicuously  striped  longitudinally  with 
lines  of  pale  blue;  smooth,  and  having  upon  it  rough  excrescences.  Leaves: 
large  ;  simple  ;  opposite  ;  with  stout,  grooved  petioles  ;  rounded  or  cordate,  with 
three  lobes  above  the  middle  ;  sinuses  pointed  ;  finely  and  doubly  serrate.  Glab- 
rous above  and  below,  slightly  pubescent  when  young.  F/cnvcrs  :  yellowish 
green  ;  growing  in  terminal,  drooping  racemes  and  appearing  after  the  leaves 
have  unfolded.  The  sterile  and  fertile  flowers  grow  in  different  clusters  on  the 
same  tree.     Saviaras :  pale  green,  with  widely  diverging  wings  ;  glabrous. 

Dame  Nature  was  surely  in  one  of  her  jocund  moods  when 
she  gave  so  many  fine  little  touches  to  the 
striped  maple.  The  bud-scales  are  very 
attractive,  and  as  the  leaves  unfold  in  the 
springtime  they  cover  the  tree  with  a  burst 
of  faint  rose  colour.  Its  racemes  of  delicate 
flowers  sway  in  the  tree  like  tassels.  The 
brilliancy  of  its  green  garb  and  the  gay 
yellow  tint  to  which  it  turns  in  the  autumn, 
make  it  one  of  the  most  beautiful  trees  in 
cultivation.  In  outline  its  leaf  has  been 
thought  to  suggest  a  goose's  foot  from  the 
wav  in  which  it  widfc-ns  towards   the    summit    and    divides    into 


Acer  Pennsylvdnicum. 


202  TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL. 

three  well-cut  lobes.  The  peculiar  vertical  marking  of  the 
trunk  is  also  a  beautiful  and  characteristic  feature  and  makes 
it  easy  for  us  to  retain  our  friendship  with  the  tree  during  the 
winter.  The  striped  maple  is  a  shrinking  character  and  loves 
to  hide  itself  under  the  shade  of  larger  trees.  It  frequently 
occurs  as  a  shrub.  In  fact  in  New  England  it  forms  an 
immense  amount  of  undergrowth.  To  it  are  sometimes 
attached  the  names  of  false,  or  striped,  dogwood.  Its  name  of 
moosewood  was  bestowed  on  it  because  in  early  spring  deer 
browse  on  the  young  shoots,  that  they  may  enjoy  its  sugar-like 
sap. 

nOUNTAIN  MAPLE.     {Plate  CVJ.) 

Acer  spicaium. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Maple.     Slender y  taper ing.      i2-y>/eet.         Netv  Foundland  ivestivard        May,  June. 

and  southicard  to  N. 
Carolina  and  Tenn. 

Bark:  brown  or  greenish  ;, not  striped.  Leaves:  three  to  five  inches  long; 
simple  ;  opposite;  rounded  in  outline,  with  three  or  rarely  five  lobes,  pointed 
at  the  apex  and  coarsely  serrate.  Above  glabrous  ;  pubescent  underneath 
when  young ;  soft ;  flexible.  Flowei-s :  greenish  vellow  ;  growing  in  erect, 
dense  clusters  and  unfolding  after  the  leaves.  Petals:  linear;  spatulate. 
Samaras  :  growing  in  clusters  from  nine  to  ten  inches  long,  the  wings  diverg- 
ing at  right  angles. 

It  is  always  a  source  of  wonderment  why  Acer  spicatum  re- 
mains so  persistently  under  the  shade  of  other  trees.     It  could 
well  defy  the  full  light  of   day  that   might  fall 
upon  it  in  an  open  place,  for  it  is  very  beauti- 
ful.    At  the  north  it   rarely   occurs   as  other 
than  a  tall  shrub  and  clings  to  the  rich  woods 
or   grows   by   well-shaded  roadsides.      In  the 
coloured  illustration    the    delicate  samaras  of 
the  mountain    maple    are    seen  wearing   their 
fresh,    green    tint    of    youth.        Later,    in  the 
autumn,  they  turn  to  brown.     The  foliage  then 
Acer  spiciiium.       bccomes  a  brilliant  red  or  a  clear,  deep  orange. 
It  is  to  the  maples,   we  should   remember,    that   we   owe  the 


PLATE  CVl.     MOUNTAIN   MAPLB.     Acer  spicatiwi. 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,    BY   FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY. 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


PLATE  evil.     FALSE  SYCAMORE.     Acfr  Pseudo-Plataniis. 
(203) 


204 


TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL. 


greater  part  of  the  glorious  colouring  of  the  autumn.  The 
individual  trees  remain  ever  true  to  their  colours  and  turn 
every  year  to  the  particular  ones  that  they  have  chosen. 
A  beautiful  sight  is  to  see  two  different  maples  standing  closely 
together  when  one  has  changed  to  scarlet  and  the  other  to 
clear,  bright  yellow. 

A.  plantano'idcs,  Norway  maple,  is  one  of  the  introduced 
maples  with  which  we  are  becoming  familiar  along  drives  in 
parks  and  in  general  cultivation.  It  is  a  handsome  tree, 
rounded  in  outline  and  with  broad,  thin  and  smooth  leaves, 
which  must  luxuriate  in  the  wealth  of  light  and  sunshine  they 
are  capable  of  absorbing.  In  shape  they  are  similar  to  those 
of  the  sugar  maple  ;  the  lobes  however  are  short,  five  to  seven 
in  number,  and  have  from  two  to  five  sharply  pointed  teeth. 
The  corymb-like  clusters  of  fruit  are  a  distinctive  feature,  the 
wings  being  frequently  two  inches  long  and  diverging  so  as 
to  form  almost  a  straight  line.  Another  mark  of  the  tree's 
identity  is  that  the  leaf-stem  contains  a  milky  juice. 

A.  Fseudo-Plataiuis  {Plate  CVJJ.),  false  sycamore,  is  another 
European  species  that  is  extensively 
planted  for  ornament  in  this  country. 
Its  beautiful,  firm  leaves  have  very 
long,  red  petioles  and  five  short  lobes 
which  are  coarsely  and  irregularly 
toothed.  The  sinuses  are  pointed.  On 
the  upper  surface  the  leaf  is  a  rich 
green,  but  underneath  it  is  a  much 
lighter,  softer  colour.  In  its  fruiting 
season  the  tree  is  hung  with  a  long 
raceme  of  pubescent  samaras  with 
wings  that  diverge  widely. 

A.  JapSnicum  atropurplireiim,  blood-leaved  Japanese  maple,  is 
one  of  a  number  of  dwarf  maples  which  is  mentioned  here 
because   it   is   now   becoming   frequent  in   cultivation.     It    is 


A  cer  Pseildo-Platdnus. 


Plate  CVill.     locust  tree.     Rolnnia  Pscudacacia. 


COPYRIGHT     1900,    BY  FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY. 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL. 


205 


extremely    beautiful   with   rich   wine-coloured    foliage   and   a 
graceful  manner  of  growth. 


LOCUST  TREE. 


YELLOW  LOCUST. 

{Plate  CVIII.) 
Robinia  Pseudacacia, 


FALSE  ACACIA. 


FAMILY 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE 

TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Pea. 

Head^  narrow,  oblong; 

4050  or  80 

Penn.  southward  to 

May,  June. 

branches,  erect. 

feet. 

Go,,  and  westward. 

Fruit:  Sept. 

Bark:  reddish  brown;  rough  and  broken  in  ridges.  Stipules:  linear  and 
later  developing  into  spines.  Leaves:  compound;  alternate;  with  leaf- 
stalks that  are  hollowed  at  the  base  and  which  cover  the  buds  of  the  suc- 
ceeding year  ;  odd-pinnate,  with  from  eleven  to  twenty-five  oval  leaflets;  rounded 
at  both  ends  and  occasionally  tipped  with  the  end  of  the  midrib;  entire  ;  net- 
ted-veined ;  glabrous;  when  unfcjlding  covered  with  a  silvery  pubescence. 
Flowers:  white;  fragrant;  growing  in  loose,  axillary  racemes,  Ci7/r;c ;  five- 
toothed.  Corolla:  showy ;  paijilionaceous ;  the  standard  yellow  at  the  base. 
Legumes:  linear;  glabrous  and  containing  from  four  to  six  brown  seeds. 
They  remain  on  the  trees  over  the  winter. 

**The  slender  acacia  would  not  shake 

One  long  milk-bloom  on  the  tree. 
The  white  lake-blossom  fell  into  the  lake 

As  the  pimpernel  dozed  on  the  lea  ; 
But  the  rose  was  awake  all  night  for  your  sake, 

Knowing  your  promise  to  me  ; 
The  lilies  and  roses  were  all  awake, 

They  sigh'd  for  the  dawn  and  thee." — Tennyson. 

It  is  not  only  when  the  bright  sun  of 
mid-day  is  shining  that  trees  are  well 
seen.  On  some  tranquil  night  in  early 
summer,  lit  by  a  bright  moon,  the 
locust  tree  is  clearly  defined  as  it  rises 
to  its  stately  height  and  casts  about  its 
fantastic  shadows.  Its  clusters  of 
moving,  sensitive  blossoms  also  appear 
to  be  thrown  into  prominence  by  the 
dimness  of  other  things.  It  is  then 
free  from  the  labour  of  digesting  and 
assimilating  the  sap,  which  work  it 
does  in  the  sunshine,  and  calmly  leans  RoHnia  Pseudac^da. 


Legume,  Pistil, 

laiii  open. 

PLATE  CIX.     CLAMMY  LOCUST.     Robinia  viscosa. 
(206) 


PLATt   LA.      KUbb  ACACIA.     Kobinia  hispuhi. 

COPTRIGHT,    1900,    Br  FREDERICK  A.   STOKES  COMPANr. 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL.  207 

upon  the  cool  night  breezes.  The  luscious  honey  scent  the 
flowers  cast  about  is  one  of  its  most  seductive  charms.  There 
is  in  the  southern  part  of  New  Jersey  an  avenue  of  these  trees 
which  for  many  generations  was  the  admiration  of  those  that 
passed  beneath  them.  Then  a  certain  borer,  called  painted  cly- 
tus,  found  them  out  and  set  about  the  poor  work  of  destruction. 
Such  ravages  have  thus  been  made  among  these  trees  that  to-day 
many  of  them  are  but  dark,  uncanny  stumps  with  a  mass  of 
suckers  growing  from  their  tops.  Now  and  then  one  is  seen 
that  has  for  some  reason  been  less  molested  than  the  others, 
and  it  stands  out  as  though  to  testify  to  the  departed  glory  of 
its  comrades.  In  fact,  away  from  its  native  forests  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  protect  the  tree  from  such  damage.  This  is 
unfortunate,  as  its  beauty  has  caused  it  to  be  perhaps  more 
planted  in  Europe  and  in  America  than  anv  other  tree. 

The  wood  of  the  locust  tree  is  very  valuable.  It  is  closely 
grained,  heavy  and  especially  strong  when  in  contact  with  the 
ground.  Above  all  others  it  is  preferred  for  the  making  of 
treenails,  and  it  is  used  for  posts  in  vessels  and  for  the  masts 
of  ships.  Long  ago  its  excellence  was  known  to  the  Indians 
of  Virginia,  and  from  it  their  bows  were  constructed. 

CLAMMY  L0CU5T.     {Plate  CI X) 

Robiiiia  rnscbsa. 


FAMILY 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE 

TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Pea. 

Slender:  branches^ 
spreading. 

y:>-i,o/eet. 

Virginia  to  Georgia. 

June. 

One  of  the  differences  between  this  species  of  Robinia  and 
the  preceding  one  is  that  its  rough  leaf-stems  and  branchlets 
are  clammy.  Then  it  is  a  smaller  tree  and  sometimes  descends 
to  a  shrub  of  from  five  to  ten  feet  high.  Its  pink  flowers  grow 
in  erect  or  drooping,  compact  racemes.  They  are  very  showy, 
but  their  colour  hardly  compensates  for  the  sweet  scent  and 
more  graceful  growth  of  the  flowers  of  Robinia  Pscudacacia. 
Still  it  is  one  of  our  most  rare  and  beautiful  trees,  and  it  is  to 
be  lamented  that  it  does  not  occur  more  generally  in  a  wild 


2o8  TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL. 

state.  It  seems,  however,  to  have  a  natural  taste  for  luxury. 
From  the  mountains  of  Carolina,  where  it  is  particularly  charm- 
ing, it  has  escaped,  and  it  is  seen  in  cultivation  throughout  the 
Middle  and  Eastern  States  and  in  Canada,  Its  legumes  are 
linear-lanceolate,  and  they  are  slightly  tipped  with  a  vestige  of 
the  style. 


ROSE  ACACIA.    BRISTLY  LOCUST.    HOSS  LOCUST. 

{Plate  ex.) 

Robinia  liispida. 


FAMILY 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE 

TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Pea. 

Slender,  spreading. 

i-T-ofeet. 

Virgi 

Ilia  ioiit/nuard. 

June. 

Ba>-k  of  branches:  Purplish.  Leaves:  compound;  alternate;  with  leaf-stalks 
that  are  hollowed  at  the  base  aud  which  cover  the  buds  of  the  succeeding 
year;  odd-pinnate,  with  broad  leaflets,  tipped  with  long  bristles.  Flowers: 
large;  showy;  deep  rose  colour  and  growing  in  rather  loose  racemes.  Corolla: 
papilionaceous;  the  standard  large.    Legumes:  linear,  and  covered  with  bristles. 

A  glance  at  this  lovely  plant  is  enough  to  cause  it  to  be  asso- 
ciated with  the  family  to  which  it  belongs,  although  it  is  the 
•one  that  is  shrubby  in  its  habit  of  growth.  When  in  bloom  it 
is  a  soft,  brilliant  sight,  and  the  papilionaceous  corolla 
reminds  us  strongly  of  many  of  our  wild  flowers. 

"  Is  it  a  tree,"  a  little  child  asked  with  amazement,  "  or  is  it 
a  big  flower  ?  " 

By  plucking  one  of  its  leaves  it  is  seen  that  it  takes  the  same 
precocious  care  of  its  offspring  as  is  customary  with  other 
members  of  the  genus.  The  base  of  the  long  stalk  is  hollow, 
and  nestling  cosily  within  its  centre  is  the  young  bud  of  the 
next  season.  Here  it  is  as  completely  sheltered  and  hidden 
away  from  harm  as  though  a  little  house  were  built  about  it. 
Throughout  the  northern  states  we  are  now  accustomed  to 
seeing  the  shrub,  as  it  is  widely  cultivated  for  ornament. 


o  1  ,      t ,  i,-,n  '  ^/■r  ;  ■  iiicaiitlios. 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,    BY  FREDERICK  A.  STOKtS  COMPANY 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL. 


209 


HONEY  LOCUST.     THREE=THORNED  ACACIA.     HONEY 

SHUCKS.     {Plate  CXI.) 

Gleditsia  trtancd?tthos. 


FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE 

Senna.  Irregular.         T^-i^oJeet.         IVestern  N.  V.  southward 

and  westward. 


TIME  OF  BLOOM 
May.,  June. 


Bark:  grey  and  rough,  with  small  scales  at  the  base  of  the  trunk.  The 
young  branchlets  reddish  brown  and  having  upon  them  wart-like  excrescences. 
'spines  :  two  to  four  inches  long;  twice  or  thrice  branched  and  cur\ed  at  the 
Ijase.  In  very  young  and  old  trees  they  ai  e  sometimes  absent.  LitU'es  :  com- 
pound; alternate;  with  long,  downy  petioles;  abruptly  pinnate,  or  twice 
pinnate  with  from  ten  to  twenty-six  or  more  long,  oblong  leaflets  tapering 
towards  the  apex  and  rounded  at  the  base;  entire  or  slightly  toothed;  dark 
green  and  lustrous  above,  yellow  green  below;  glabrous;  thin.  Fiou'ers : 
greenish  white ;  growing  in  narrow  racemes.  Calyx :  three  to  five  cleft. 
Corolla :  with  from  three  to  five  narrow,  spreading  petals.  Legit7nes:  nine  to 
twenty  inches  long;  reddish  brown;  flat;  linear;  curved  and  containing 
between  the  seeds  a  sweet  substance  which  has  suggested  the  name  of  honey 
locust. 

It  seems  as  though  there 
were  no  motion  quite  as  un- 
dulating and  graceful  as 
that  of  a  tree  with  an  abun- 
dance of  fine  foliage.  This 
the  honey  locust  has,  and 
about  it  there  is  something 
very  interesting.  As  though 
to  atone  for  the  fact  that 
its  leaves  are  abruptly  pin- 
nate, a  growth  never  as 
pleasing  as  when  they  are 
terminated  by  an  odd  leaf- 
let, or  by  a  tendril,  the  end 
leaflet  often  again  divides 
itself,  and  the  leaf  becomes 
twice  pinnate.  In  this  way 
it  satisfies  its  desire  for  a 
mass  of  fleecy,  light  foliage. 
Growing  on  the  branches 
just  above  the  axils  of  the  leaves,  or  where  the  leaflets  grow 


Gleditsia  triancdnthos. 


2IO  TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL. 

in  little  clusters,  the  long,  sharply-pointed  and  richly-coloured 
thorns  appear.  But  they  are  not  more  curious  to  look  at  than 
are  the  great  pods  which  hang  on  the  tree  late  in  the  season. 
One  is  really  inclined  to  wonder  where  they  came  from.  As  they 
twist  themselves  like  corkscrews  in  drying  they  produce  an 
eccentric  effect.  This  is  not  their  object,  however  ;  they  have 
simply  devised  this  plan  as  a  means  of  securing  a  wider  dis- 
tribution of  their  seeds. 

The  tree  is  now  widely  planted  throughout  the  north,  and  it 
is  often  chosen  to  form  hedges.  That  it  withstands  the  on- 
slaught of  insects  and  grows  rapidly  from  the  seed  are  strong 
points  in  its  favour.  It  comes  into  leaf,  however,  late  in  the 
spring  when  nearly  all  the  other  trees  are  already  clothed  with 
verdure. 


AMERICAN  YELLOW=WOOD.     KENTUCKY  YELLOW- 
WOOD.     {Plate  CXJL) 

Cladrdstis  lutea. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Ptn.       Head,  broad:  branches^       2,0-so/eet.     Eastern  Ky.  to  Tenn.  May,  June, 

spreading.  and  North  Carolina. 

Bark:  silvery  grey;  dose,  something  lilce  that  of  the  beech.  Branches: 
ashy.  Leaves:  compound;  alternate;  with  stalks  that  are  hollowed  at  their 
bases  and  enclose  the  buds  of  the  succeeding  year;  odd-pinnate;  with  from 
seven  to  eleven  oval  or  ovate  leaflets  ;  pointed  at  the  apex  and  rather  blunt  at 
the  base;  entire;  light  green  above;  lighter  below;  glabrous.-  Flowers:  white; 
fragrant;  hanging  in  full,  terminal  panicles  often  a  foot  or  more  long.  Corolla: 
white;  papilionaceous;  the  standard  large  and  turned  backward.  Fruit: 
many  linear  flat  pods  which  hang  from  short  peduncles  and  contain  from  four 
to  six  seeds. 

There  is  something  mystical  about  the  great  bunches  of  this 
tree's  flowers  when  they  unfold,  and  a  strangeness  lurks  in 
seeing  things  so  purely  white  hanging  from  its  boughs.  When 
the  sun  shines  upon  them  after  a  shower,  they  sparkle  as  with 
innumerable  drops  of  crystallized  dew,  and  tiny,  round  specks 
of  reflected  sunshine  gleam  over  their  white  petals.  It  is  inter- 
esting to  notice  their  colours.     Sometimes  they  blend  crimson. 


PLATE  CXll.     AMERICAN  YELLOvV    WOOD.     Cladrastis  lutca. 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,    BY  FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY. 
PRINTED  IN   AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL. 


yellow  and  green.     The  crimson  tint  is  bordered  with  grey,  and 

the  green  sinks  away  into  a  deeper  blue.  .r^^fer 

Every  season  there  are  flowers  to  be 

seen  on  the  tree,  although  it  is  only 

on  alternate  years  that  it  throws   out 

its  full  wealth  of  bloom.     More  than  a 

fortnight  they  seldom  last,  and  in  warm 

weather  hardly  as  long.     In  cultivation 

it  would  be  difificult  to  imagine  a  more 

beautiful,    low-growing   tree   than  the 

yellow-wood  ;    for  besides  its  flowers, 

its  foliage   is  extremely  graceful  and 

changes  in  the  autumn  to  various  tints  of  gold. 

The  wood  of  Cladrastis  lutea  is  light  yellow  and  brittle.  In 
fact  its  branches  are  very  prone  to  break  when  they  are  struck 
by  a  high  gale  of  wind. 


Cladrastis  lutia 


KENTUCKY  COFFEE-TREE.  STUMP  TREE.  {Plate  CXIII.) 

Gytmidcladus  diolca. 


FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT 

Senna.         Head,  narrow:         40-80-1  loyV^^. 
branches,  ascending. 


RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

N.Y.  and  Petin.  south-  May-July, 

ward  and  ivestward.     Fruit:  Sept.,  Oct. 


Bark:  grey,  tinged  with  red;  coarse;  rough  and  separating  into  persistent 
scales.  Branches:  few  and  having  no  thorns.  Stipules  :  lanceolate.  Leaves  : 
one  to  three  feet  long;  unequally  twice-compound;  alternate;  odd-pinnate; 
with  from  seven  to  thirteen  leaflets  on  each  division  of  the  blade;  ovate; 
taper-pointed  at  the  apex  and  rounded  or  cordate  at  the  base;  entire  and 
fringed  about  the  margins.  Dark  green  and  glabrous  above,  pale  yellow-green 
below  and  slightlv  pubescent  along  the  ribs.  Fhnvcts :  white;  dioecious; 
growing  in  racemes  along  the  branches.  Legumes:  large;  six  to  ten  inches 
long,  and  broad;  reddish  brown;  flat;  glaucous  and  containing  several  hard 
and  grey  seeds. 

It  is  a  pleasure  to  feel  that  we  know  just  what  to  expect 
from  trees — that  they  are  not  with  every  return  of  the  season 
presenting  us  with  new  fashions.  We  may  have  noticed  that 
the  late,  unfolding  leaves  of  the  Kentucky  coffee-tree  are  pink, 
and  that  as  thev  become  more  accustomed  to  the  world  they 


212 


TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL. 


Gytnnicladus  dioica. 


turn  to  a  bronze-green.  In  the  au- 
tumn they  again  change  to  bright, 
clear  yellow.  Nor  is  it  only  in  one 
particular  year  that  these  colours 
succeed  each  other.  At  whatever 
time  we  return  to  the  tree,  no  matter 
how  long  afterwards,  we  shall  find 
it  telling  the  same  story.  A  spray  of 
its  doubly-compound  leaves  readily 
adapts  itself  to  conventional  design- 
ing. The  curved  pods  remain  un- 
opened on  the  boughs  throughout 
the  winter,  when  the  tree  has  a  la- 
mentably dead  and  stump-like  look. 
Their  seeds  were  at  one  time  used 
to  make  a  beverage  which  was 
thought  to  be  something  like  coffee. 


BLACK  WALNUT.     {Plate  CXIV) 
Jiiglatis  nigra. 

MMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Walnut.       Rounded:   branches.^       30-60-1 50 yir*/.        Mass.  southivnrd  Aprils  May. 

very  thick.  and  ivestward.  Fruit:  October. 

Bark  :  blackish;  rough ;  broadly  ridged.  Twigs  :  pubescent.  Leaves :  com- 
pound; alternate;  with  stalks  from  one  to  two  feet  long,  which  are  slightly  pubes- 
cent ;  odd-pinnate,  with  from  thirteen  to  twenty-three  leaflets;  ovate- 
lanceolate;  taper-pointed  at  the  apex  and  rounded  or  slightly  cordate  at  the 
base;  the  sides  often  unequal,  and  the  lower  pair  of  leaflets  smaller  than  the 
others;  sharply  toothed;  yellowish  green  above  and  glabrous,  paler  below  and 
pubescent.  Fniit :  large  ;  globose;  solitary;  the  husk  greenish  yellow  when 
ripe  and  dotted  with  brownish  red;  spongy  and  decaying  to  release  the  nut. 
Nut:  black;  deeply  and  sharply  furrowed,  and  containing  a  rich,  highly 
flavoured  kernel. 

It  has  been  estimated  that  fully  one  hundred  years  are  re- 
quired for  this  tree  to  attain  the  ample  proportions  necessary 
for  a  valuable  timber  tree.  Then  the  axeman  who  long  has  had 
his  eye  on  it,  lays  low  the  result  of  its  patient,  unerring  growth. 
How  pathetic  is  this  defenselessness  of  the  tree  against  man  ! 


PLATE  CXIII.     KENTUCKY  COFFEE  TREE.     GyDiiwcladiis  tUoica. 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,    BY  FREDERICK  A.   STOKES  COMPANY 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL. 


213 


Long  before  him  it  knew  the 
earth,  and  it  has  outgrown  him; 
but  meekly  it  falls  before  his 
will.  So  grea*-  has  been  the 
demand  for  the  beautiful,  dark 
brown  heart-wood  of  the  black 
walnut  that  it  may  now  almost 
be  said  to  no  longer  exist  in 
the  American  forests.  And 
many  of  the  trees  that  are  ap- 
proaching a  marketable  size 
have  already  been  bought  "  on 
the  stump"  by  lumbermen. 
Those  trees  that  once  covered 
vast  tracts  of  forest  land  in 
the  Mississippi  basin  are  now 
no  more,  and  east  of  the  Alle- 
ghany mountains  they  are  also 
scarce.  During  the  civil  war 
gun  stocks  were  largely  made  of  the  wood  of  the  black  walnut, 
and  trees  were  not  planted  to  replace  those  that  were  destroyed. 
As  we  all  know,  the  meat  of  the  nuts  has  a  fine,  rich  flavour  ; 
but  it  is  somewhat  difficult  of  access,  as  it  is  most  skilfully 
fastened  within  the  shells.  In  cultivation  the  tree  has  a  sombre 
aspect,  and  it  is  unfortunate  that  the  fall  web-worms  eat  so 
ravenously  its  foliage. 


Jitglans  nigra. 


BUTTERNUT.    WHITE  WALNUT.   OILNUT.   {Plate  CXV.) 

Juglans  cinerea. 

FAMILY                            SHAPE                        HEIGHT                    RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Walnut.     Unsytnntetrical :  branches,     30-50-100    New  England  south-  May. 

horizontal.                        feet.            ward  to  Ga.  and  Fruit:  Oct.,  Nov. 

7vestward. 

Bark  :  light  brown  ;  deeply  ridged.  Branchlets  :  light  grey;  rough.  Twigs  : 
sticky.  Leaf-bnds\  scaly;  pubescent.  Leaves:  compound;  alternate;  with 
pubescent  and  sticky  stalks  ;  odd-pinnate,  with  from  eleven  to  seventeen  long, 
oval,  sessile  leaflets,  taper-pointed  at  the  apex  and  rounded  at  the  base  ;  sharply 


214  TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL. 

and  unevenly  serrate;  yellowish  green  above,  underneath  extremely  pubescent. 
Flowers  I  monoecious.  Stammate  catkins  :  growing  from  axillary  buas.  Their 
flower  bracts  clothed  during  the  winter  with  tomentum;  pubescent.  Pistillate 
flaivers :  six  or  eight,  growing  in  terminal  spikes,  and  covered  with  sticky  hairs. 
Fruit:  growing  in  a  husk  from  two  to  three  inches  long  ;  oblong;  pointed;  green 
orgre'enish  brown  when  ripe;  sticky,  and  decaying  away  from  the  nut  that  it 
encloses.  Nut;  ovate ;  with  a  rough,  furrowed  shell,  and  sweet,  highly  flavoured 
kernel. 

As  is  often  true  of  trees  that  come  into  leaf  late  in  the  season, 
the  butternut  is  one  of  the  first  to  take  offence  at  Jack  Frost; 
and  that  he  may  not  further  wound  it  by  his  familiarity,  its 
leaves  drop  silently  to  the  ground  very  early  in  the  autumn. 
At  all  times  the  leaves  of  the  tree  are  rather  scarce,  and  its 
exposed  grey  limbs  present  an  unkempt  appearance.  So  much 
yellow  is  mixed  with  the  colouring  of  the  foliage  that,  while  the 
effect  is  peculiar,  it  robs  it  of  all  look  of  vigour.  The  trees 
remind  us  of  plants  that  have  been  too  much  in  the  shade. 

But  how  insignificant  are  such  points  as  these  to  the  country 
boys  and  squirrels  that  know  the  tree  by  its  fruit.  And  how 
sweet  and  tender  is  the  young  meat,  only  those  know  that  have 
braved  the  staining  of  fingers  and  have  pounded  the  husks  open 
on  some  near-by  rock.  Perhaps  the  taste  of  the  woodlands 
still  clings  to  them,  for  they  are  seemingly  very  different 
when  bought  at  the  market. 

The  wood  of  the  butternut  is  light  brown  and  beautiful. 
Among  other  things  it  is  used  for  cabinet  work. 

nOCKER=NUT.     WHITE=HEART  HICKORY. 

FRAGRANT  HICKORY.     {Plate  C XVI >) 

Hicbria  dlba. 

FAMILY                     SHAPE                        HEIGHT                 RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Walnut.     Head^  rounded,  narrow:    jo-ioo/eet.    New  England  south-  May^June. 

branches^  spreading.                                    ward  to  Fla.  and  Fruit:  Oct.,  Nov, 

Texas  and  westward. 

Bark:  light  grey;  rough,  but  close;  not  broken  into  scales.  Leaf-buds: 
large;  round,  and  covered  with  yellowish-brown  scales.  Leaves:  comjiound; 
alternate;  odd-pinnate;  with  rough  stalks  and  from  seven  to  nine  long,  oval,  al- 
most sessile  leaflets,  taper-pointed  at  the  ajjcx,  and  wedge-shaped  or  blunt  at 
the  base;  the  lower  pair  of  leaflets  smaller  and  broader  than  the  others. 
.'^lightly  serrate  with  blunt  teeth;  above  deep  yellowish  green,  paler  and  pubes- 


PLATE  CXIV.     BLACK  WALNUT.    Jiii^hms  ii/i^ra. 


COPTRIGMT,    1900,    8Y   FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY. 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


Pistilla  te  ftowtry 
enla  rged. 


PLATE  CXV.     BUTTERNUT.    Jw^Ians  cinerea. 
(215) 


2i6  TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL. 

cent  underneath;  fragrant  when  dried.  Nut :  one  and  a  half  to  two  and  a  half 
inches  long;  greyish  white,  and  growing  in  a  thick  green  husk,  which  splits 
when  ripe  nearly  to  the  base  into  four  sections;  ovate;  rounded;  pointed  at  the 
top;  six-angled,  with  a  hard  and  thick  shell.  Kernel :  small;  sweet,  but  not 
highly  flavoured. 

It  is  true  that  the  fruit  of  this  tree  is  one  that  mocks.  Its 
large  size  and  fresh,  wholesome  look  lead  many  to  seize  it  as 
though  with  a  promise  of  finding  abundant  meat.  But  a  series 
of  disappointments  is  consequent.  The  husk  of  the  nut  is  un- 
usually thick,  and  the  shell  is  thick;  so  when  found  the  poor 
little  meat  seems  not  to  compensate  for  the  trouble  it  has  given, 
especially  as  it  is  indifferently  flavoured.  To  follow  the 
changes  of  colour  of  the  tree's  large  leaf-buds  is  interesting.  In 
the  winter  their  yellowish-brown  scales  forsake  them,  and  they 
become  covered  with  those  that  are  hard  and  greyish.  It  is  not 
well  to  be  conspicuous  late  in  the  season  when  delicate,  green 
food  is  scarce;  for  there  are  hungry  marauders  about  then  as 
well  as  in  the  summer  time,  although  not  perhaps  of  the  same 
class  as  the  beautiful  but  terrible  creature  which  is  seen  in  the 
coloured  plate. 

Of  all  the  hickories  this  one  is  the  most  generally  known 
throughout  the  south.  It  grows  also  in  the  Atlantic  states  and 
in  Canada,  but  in  these  latter  places  it  is  rather  rare.  In  the 
rich  soil  of  woods,  or  upon  hillsides  and  ridges  it  is  found. 
The  timber  that  the  tree  produces  is  very  similar  to  that  of  the 
shag-bark  hickory. 

SHAQ-BARK  HICKORY.     SHELL-BACK  HICKORY. 

WHITE  WALNUT.     {Plate  CXVJI.) 

Hicbria  ovata. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

IValnut.      Conical;  head,  narrow;     50-90- 120 /><•/.      Southern  Maine  ^^"V- 

trunk,  column-like.  ivestivard  atid        Fruit:  Sept.,Oct. 

southward  to  Fla. 
and  Texas. 

Bark:  grey;  loosely  attached,  and  breaking  into  long,  loose  strips,  which 
curve  away  from  the  tree  at  the  bottom  but  remain  attached  at  the  middle. 
Leaf-b7ids\  ovate;  large;  with  leaf-like,  brown  and  yellow-green  scales.  Leaves: 
compound;  alternate;  odd-pinnate;  with  rough  stalks  and  five  or  seven  leaflets; 


KLAlh   LAVl.      MuLKhK-NUT.     Ificoriaixlha, 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,    BY  FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY. 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


Pistillate    Staminate 
Jlower.  flower. 


PLATE  CXVII.     SHAG-BARK  HICKORY.     Hicoria  ovata. 
(217) 


2i8  TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL. 

long  ovate,  or  obovate;  sessile,  with  taper-pointed  apex  and  wedge-shaped  or 
rounded  base,  the  lower  pair  of  leaflets  varying  greatly  from  tne  others  in 
shape;  sharply  serrate;  thin;  dark  yellowish  green,  and  glabrous  above;  paler 
below.  Flowers  I  appearing  after  the  leaves  are  nearly  fully  grown.  Stainmate 
catkins  :  light  green;  slender,  and  growing  in  threes  on  long  peduncles,  i^istillate 
ones:  in  spikes  of  from  two  to  five  flowers.  Fruit:  growing  in  a  thick,  green 
husk;  smooth  and  lustrous  on  the  outside,  and  openuig  to  the  base  into  four 
sections.  Nut:  whitish;  ovate;  flattened  at  the  sides;  four-angled,  and  con- 
taining a  sweet,  highly  flavoured  kernel. 

After  the  beautiful  buds  have  burst  their  bright,  petal-like 
scales,  the  shag-bark  equips  itself  for  the  summer  with  a  green 
sunshade  of  fresh  and  fragrant  leaves.  And  it  is  also  a  sun- 
shade that  is  picturesque  and  exquisite  in  outline.  There  is 
besides  no  need  of  putting  on  one's  spectacles  before  bowing  to 
the  tree.  Its  strange,  shaggy  bark  at  once  proclaims  its  ident- 
ity, and  formality  is  forgotten.  With  tranquil  steadiness  it 
produces  every  year  its  fruit — a  dainty  gift  to  mankind.  Were 
it  only  for  its  own  purposes  of  reproduction  there  would  be  no 
need  of  its  having  so  fine  and  sweet  a  flavour.  It  is  the 
well-known  hickory  nut  of  the  market.  Those  that  wander 
much  in  the  woods  know  well  that  a  bit  of  self-restraint  is  nec- 
essary in  the  early  autumn;  for  these  nuts  will  not  be  hurried 
in  their  ripening,  and  no  more  pleasure  is  to  be  had  from  gath- 
ering them  too  soon  than  there  is  from  trying  to  unfold  for 
oneself  the  petals  of  a  rose. 

The  brownish-white  wood  of  the  shag-bark  is  tough,  elastic 
and  very  valuable.     Its  uses  are  many. 

H.  lacinihsa,  big  shell-bark,  or  king  nut,  is  a  rare  tree  which 
occasionally  grows  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  high,  and  is 
found  in  rich  soil  from  New  York  and  Pennsylvania  southward 
and  westward.  It  has  a  light  grey  bark  which  separates  into 
thin,  narrow  plates,  and  the  young  branchlets  are  orange  colour. 
The  leaves  are  from  ten  to  twenty  inches  long  and  have  from 
five  to  nine  obovate  leaflets.  Either  solitary,  or  in  pairs,  the 
nuts  grow,  and  they  are  much  larger  than  those  of  the  shag- 
bark  hickory.  In  fact,  to  one  that  sees  them  for  the  first  time, 
their  size  is  astonishing.     Their  shell  is  also  darker,  with  a  yel- 


PLATE  CXVlll.     SMALL-FRUITED  HICKORY.     Hicoria  microcarpa. 

(219) 


220  TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL. 

low  tint,  and  the  kernel,  although  sweet,  has  a  less  agreeable 
flavour.  Hicoria  laciniosa  is  slow  of  growth,  and  the  wood  that 
it  produces  is  comparatively  dark  in  colour.  Otherwise  there 
is  much  similarity  between  it  and  that  of  Hicoria  ovata. 

SMALL=FRUITED  HICKORY.     {Plate  CXVJII.) 
Htcbria  microcdrpa. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Walnut.         Rounded,  conical.         (xx^o/eet.      Mass.  to  Delaware  and  May,  June. 

■westward.  Fruit:  Se^t.,  Oct. 

Bark :  at  first  close,  but  separating  into  narrow  strips.  Leaves :  compouud 
alternate ;  with  smooth  stalks  and  from  five  to  seven  sessile  leaflets  ;  long  ; 
oval;  pointed  at  the  apex  and  at  the  base  ;  finely  serrate  ;  glabrous  above  and 
only  slightly  pubescent  in  the  angles  of  the  ribs  underneath  and  dotted  with 
dark  spots.  Frtiit :  growing  in  a  nearly  globular,  green,  thin  husk  which 
splits  when  ripe  nearly  to  the  base.  Nut :  small  ;  round;  smooth  ;  not  ridged  ; 
thin-shelled.     Kernel:  sweet. 

It  is  not  always  a  simple  matter  to  tell  at  a  glance  the  differ- 
ent hickories  apart,  for  in  general  habit  and  picturesqueness 
of  outline  they  closely  resemble  each  other.  The  foliage  of 
Hicoria  microcarpa  suggests  that  of  Hicoria  glabra,  the  pig- 
nut, and  the  shell  of  its  small  fruit  is  also  thin  and  free 
from  angles.  In  fact,  Professor  Sargent  regards  the  tree  as  a 
variety  of  Hicoria  glabra. 

About  the  leaf-buds  of  the  hickories  there  is  always  a  charm. 
Many  of  them  grow  to  the  size  of  quite  large  leaves  before  fall- 
ing and  are  full  of  colour.  Usually  the  pistillate  blossoms  are 
green,  and  so  unobtrusive  and  modest  are  they  that  they  might 
readily  be  mistaken  for  the  unfolding  foliage.  The  wood  of 
the  small-fruited  hickory  is  light  brown,  tough  and  strong. 

WHITE  ASH.      {Plate  CXIX.) 
Frdxtnus  Americana. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Olive.       Rounded:   lower  branches.,     ^o-i-io  feet.      Nova  Scotia  west-  April-June, 

slightly  drooping.  ward  and  south- 

wa  rd  to  Florida 
and  Texas. 

Lotver  Bark:  brownish  grey,  tinged  with  red ;  furrowed,  and  becoming  smoother 
upward  and  on  the  branches.  Young  shoots  glossy,  and  marked  with  light 
coloured  dots.     Leaf-buds  ;  rust  coloured  ;  glabrous  and  growing  in  elongated 


TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL. 


221 


panicles.  Leaves  :  compound  ;  opposite  ;  odd-pinnate  ;  with  from  five  to  nine 
ovate,  or  lance-obiong  leaflets ;  taper-pointed  at  the  apex  and  pointed  or  inclined 
to  be  rounded  at  the  base  and  extending  into  smooth  petiolules  about  one  quar- 
ter of  an  inch  in  length.  Dark  green  and  lustrous  above,  silvery  underneath 
and  pubescent,  becoming  glabrous  at  maturity  excepting  on  the  whitish  under 
ribs.  Flmuers :  dioecious  ;  appearing  before  the  leaves.  Stamiiiate  flowers ; 
with  three  stamens  which  have  short  filaments  and  conspicuous  anthers.  Pis- 
tillate ones :  with  their  ovaries  extended  into  a  slender  style  and  having  a  pur- 
ple, spreading,  tsvo-lobed  sfigma.  Satiiaras:  hanging  on  slender  pedicels  in 
loose  clusters;  the  wings  lanceolate  and  tapering  to  a  point. 

"  Why  lingereth  she  to  clothe  her  heart  with  love, 
Delaying  as  the  tender  ash  delays 
To  clothe  herself,  when  all  the  woods  are  green  ?  " 

— Tennyson. 

In  the  Eddas,  the  records  of  Scandinavian   mythology,  it  is 
told  that  a  mighty  ash   tree,  "Ygdrasil,"  sprang  from  the  body 
of  the  giant  Ymir  who    under    it 
lies  prostrate.     It    is   thought  to  "" 

support  the  whole  universe.  One 
of  its  great  roots  penetrates  into 
the  dwelling  of  the  gods,  another 
into  the  abode  of  the  giants,  and 
the  third  extends  into  the  realms 
of  darkness.  Each  root  is  wa- 
tered by  a  spring.  In  the  abode 
of  the  gods  it  is  tended  by  three 
Norns  ;  they  are  goddesses  who  ^^'^] 
dispense  fate  and  represent  the 
past,  the  present  and  the  future. 
The  spring  in  the  giant's  hall  is 
Ymir's  well  and  holds  in  its  depths 
wit  and  wisdom.  But  the  third 
spring  feeds  the  adder,  Nidhogge, 
darkness,  which  never  ceases 
from  gnawing  at  the  tree's  roots.  Four  harts  ceaselessly  travj. 
erse  the  branches  and  bite  off  the  buds.  They  are  the  four 
winds.  After  their  creation  of  the  universe,  these  gods  also 
conceived  the  first  man,  Aske,  to  be  made  out  of  an   ash   tree, 


Frdxinus  A  tntricina. 


Pistil. 


PLATE  CXIX.     WHITE  ASH.     Fraxinus  Americana. 
(222) 


TREL^S  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL.  223 

and    the    first    woman    out    of    an    alder.       She    was    called 
Embla. 

The  white  ash  is  an  especially  handsome  tree  of  rapid 
growth  and  with  clean  foliage  that  is  not  ravaged  by  insects. 
Its  flexible,  fine  timber  is  of  great  value  in  cabinet  work  and  is 
well  adapted  for  the  making  of  oars,  carriage  poles,  shafts  and 
agricultural  implements. 

BLUE  ASH.     (J'late  CXX.) 
Frdxinus  quadranguldta. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Olive.  Slender.  (>o-ioo/ect.  Ontario  to  Minnesota  and  March,   April. 

southward  to  Alabama, 

Bark :  light  grey ;  tinged  with  red  and  divided  irregularly  into  plate-like 
scales.  BraiichUls :  squared;  four-angled.  Leaves:  compound;  opposite; 
odd-pinnate ;  with  from  five  to  nine  or  more  long  ovate  or  lanceolate  leaflets 
with  very  short  petiolules,  or  nearly  sessile.  Apex  and  base  taper- 
pointed;  sharply  serrate  ;  yellowish  green  ;  dull  and  glabrous  above,  pale  and 
glabrous  below,  but  downy  in  the  angles  of  the  ribs  when  young.  Flowers  t 
dioecious;  insignificant;  growing  on  slender  pedicels  from  separate  buds  in 
the  axils  of  the  leaf-scars  of  the  preceding  year,  and  unfolding  as  the  terminal 
bud  expands.  Samaras  :  hanging  in  clusters  ;  narrowly  oblong  ;  the  wings  ex- 
tending all  around  and  nearly  the  same  width  throughout ;  notched  at  the  apex. 

In  rich  woods  and  on  the  fertile  bottom  lands  of  the  west  the 
blue  ash  is  mostly  found.  But  even  throughout  its  natural 
range  it  is  not  a  common  tree.  As  is  true  of  nearly  all  the 
members  of  its  family,  it  is  beautiful  and  unusually  free  from 
objectionable  features.  It  grows  rapidly  to  a  tall  and  stately 
height,  and  its  foliage  has  happily  no  blandishments  for  the  in- 
sect world.  In  the  autumn  it  turns  to  a  pale  yellow,  and  al- 
though the  leaves  have  unfolded  late  in  the  spring,  just  when 
the  samaras  are  forming,  they  are  among  the  first  to  fall.  The 
mark  by  which  the  tree  is  most  readily  known  is  the  quadran- 
gular shape  of  its  stems.  It  has,  however,  been  popularly 
stated  that  they  lose  this  feature  as  they  grow  old.  But  Mr. 
Beadle,  of  Biltmore,  who  has  grown  several  hundred  thousands 
of  blue  ashes,  finds  that  from  the  first  to  the  tenth  year  of  their 
age  there  is  a  strong  increase  in  this  characteristic,  and  that 
to  some  extent  it  is  always  retained. 


PLATE  CXX.     BLUE  ASH.     Fraxinits  quadrangulata. 

(2  2J,) 


PLATE  CXXI.     Whiit   riiNt.      j  miis  .^n. 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,   BY  FREDEhlCK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY. 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL.  225 

The  dark,  yellowish  wood  of  the  blue  ash  is  valuable.  It  is 
not  very  strong,  but  hard,  and  is  adaptable  for  such  purposes  as 
flooring  and  parts  of  carriages.  Commercially,  it  is  not  distin- 
guished from  the  other  ashes  of  the  northern  and  middle  states. 
From  its  inner  bark  a  blue  dye  is  extracted  and  to  this  cir- 
cumstance is  owing  the  tree's  common  name. 

WHITE  PINE.     WEYMOUTH  PINE.     {Plate  CXXL) 
Plnus  Strbbus. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOIVI 

Pine.  Conical;  branches,         Zo-ij^/eei.     Northward  to  Great  June. 

tvhor led  horizontally.  Lakes.,  southward  to  Fruit:   S^/>t. 

Georgia  and  Iowa. 

Bark  :  light  greenish  grey;  smooth  on  young  trunlcs  and  branches,  and  be- 
coming rough  and  brownish  with  age.  Leaves  :  three  to  five  inches  long;  sim- 
ple; arranged  closely  along  the  branches  in  clusters  of  five,  and  having  short 
sheaths  which  fall  early;  needle-shaped;  three-sided;  light  green;  soft;  deli- 
cate; glaucous.  Cones  :  reddish  brown;  four  to  si.\  inches  long;  terminal;  soli- 
tary; drooping;  cylindrical;  slightly  curved;  resinous.  Scales:  thin;  blunt. 
Seeds  :  winged. 

The  tragrance  of  balsam,  the  greenness  of  hope  seem  to 
come  to  us  with  the  very  name  of  a  pine;  but  there  are  few  among 
them  that  can  claim  as  much  admiration  as  the  white  pine. 
Much  of  the  peculiar  charm  which  distinguishes  our  scenery 
from  that  of  other  lands  is  owing  to  its  great  whorled  branches 
which  regularly  stand  out  against  the  sky.  Throughout  the 
winter  how  magnificent  is  this  living  creature  of  the  forest, 
when  it  stretches  out  its  arms  to  uphold  the  snow  and  ice  that 
bend  them  without  mercy  to  the  ground.  And  how  must  it  be 
thrilled  with  delight  as  it  is  touched  with  the  soft  air  of  spring 
which  lovingly  dries  its  needles  by  fanning  them  in  its  breezes. 
Then  as  the  silver  sheen  of  their  undersides  passes  through  the 
hazy  blue  tone  of  its  green,  Thoreau  describes  the  effect  ai 
similar  to  that  of  cold  flashes  of  electric  light. 

It  is  interesting  to  reflect  that  during  the  latter  part  of  tb.e 
XVIIth  century  all  silver  shillings  and  smaller  coins  that  were 
struck  in  the  colony  of  Massachusetts  bore  the  device  of  a 
white  pine.  Also  in  1772,  a  clause  in  extenuation  to  one  in  the 
charter  of  Massachusetts  Bay  read  :  "That  after  September  21, 


226 


TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL. 


Pinus  Strbbus. 


1772,  in  New  England,  New 
York  and  New  Jersey  in 
America  no  person  shall 
cut  or  destroy  any  white 
pine  trees,  not  growing  in 
any  township  or  its  bounds, 
without  his  Majesty's  li- 
cense." The  name  Wey- 
mouth pine  was  given  to 
it  in  England,  and  was  to 
commemorate  Lord  Wey- 
mouth. 

To-day  the    tree   is    in 
.  danger    of    extermination 
from  the  axe,  for   it  is  the 
most  valuable  timber  tree 
of    Eastern  America.     Its 
light,    soft    and    straight- 
grained  wood  is  free  from 
knots   and  nearly  so  from 
resin.       It  is  easily  worked 
For    carpentry    and    various 
In  low,  fertile  soil  the   tree 


and     receives    a     high    polish. 

constructions  it  is  much    used. 

grows,  often  forming  large  forests,  and  also  in  sandy  places.   It 

appears  most  conspicuous  in  groves  of  deciduous-leaved  trees, 

and  in  parts  of  New  England  it  now  occupies  extensive  tracts 

of  abandoned  farm  land. 


HEMLOCK.      {Plate  CXXII.) 

Tsu^a  Canadensis. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Pine.         Conical:  branches^     6o-?>o-ioo/eet.     A'ezv  Brunswick  west-         April,  May. 
horizontal,  droofiing.  ward  to  the  Gt.  Lakes 

and  southward. 

Bark:  reddish  or  grey;  scaly,  and  becoming  more  rough  and  furrowed 
with  age.  Leaves  :  linear;  half  an  inch  long;  simple;  growing  flatly  on  little 
petioles,  singly,  and  opposite  to  each  other  up  and  down  the  branchlets;  nar- 
row; blunt  at  the  apex  and  sometimes  minutely  toothed.     When  young  light 


PLATE  CXXII.     HEMLOCK.      Tsi/ea  Civiadcitsis. 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,    8Y  FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY. 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL.  227 

yellow-green  above,  becoming  darker;  lustrous;  silvery  white  underneath. 
Cones-  very  small;  hardly  over  half  an  inch  long;  ovate-oblong;  solitary  and 
drooping  at  the  ends  of  the  branchlets.  Sca/es :  rounded;  thni;  and  not  open- 
ing widely  when  the  seeds  are  ripe.     Seeds  and  wings  nearly  as  long  as  the  scales. 

When  on  some  open,  rocky  ridge  this  tree  is  seen  growing  by 
itself,  it  is  often  clothed  to  the  ground  with  its  graceful  and 
drooping  branches.  Their  spray  is  filmy  and  plume-like,  and 
as  first  the  intense  lustre  of  their  dark-green  needles  is  height- 
ened and  as  then  their  silvery  undersides  dart  upward,  it  appears 
as  though  a  light,  fleecy  cloud  were  gambolling  through  its 
boughs.  When  the  spring-time  comes  the  tree  is  touched  with 
a  lively  yellow-green  and  is  then,  as  also  when  it  is  young,  one 
of  the  most  charming  sights  of  nature.  In  October,  in  the  for- 
est's shade  it  becomes  dark,  almost  black,  and  stretches  itself 
solemnly  to  its  utmost  height. 

The  hemlock  has  been  much  planted  as  an  ornamental  tree 
and  has  in  cultivation  produced  new  varieties,  but  none  of 
them  is  so  free  and  graceful  in  its  growth  as  the  wild  tree. 
More  often  than  for  its  timber,  which  is  coarsely  grained  and 
brittle,  it  is  felled  for  the  sake  of  its  bark.  From  this  tannin  is 
largely  taken  to  be  used  in  the  manufacture  of  leather,  and  it  is 
also  known  to  possess  medicinal  properties. 

T.  Caroliniana^  Carolina  hemlock,  is  also  of  all  the  evergreen 
trees  one  of  the  most  beautiful,  and  even  in  this  point  excels 
a  little  the  common  hemlock  which  it  so  closely  resembles.  In 
its  habit  of  growth  it  is  more  dense,  and  the  cones  it  bears  are 
slightly  larger  with  scales  that  are  prone  to  diverge.  The  tree 
is  not  common  and  is  generally  found  in  groves  along  the  high 
bluffs  of  the  Blue  Ridge  mountains — that  part  of  the  country 
so  rich  in  flora  and  forestry. 

BLACK  SPRUCE.     {Plate  CXXIII) 

Plcea  Mariana. 
FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Pine.      Trunk,  straight;  lower    ^o-go-ioo/eet.     North  Carolina  March-June, 

branches,  drooping.  northward. 

Bark:  greyish  brown;  slightly  rough.  Branchlets:  brown;  greenish  when 
young  and  pubescent.     Leaves :  seldom  over  two-thirds  of  an  inch  long;  dark 


Scale  o/cone^  showing 
seeds. 


PLATE  CXXIll.     BLACK  SPRUCE.    Picea  Mariana. 

(228) 


TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH   SOIL.  229 

blue-green;  simple;  growing  tliiclvly  all  along  and  on  every  side  of  the  tan  col- 
oured twigs;  needle-sliaped;  four-sided;  curved  or  strai-ht;  rigid.  Cones:  one- 
iialf  to  one  and  a  half  inches  long;  rich  purple,  and  turning  later  to  reddish 
brown  or  tan  colour;  ovate  or  ovoid;  terminal;  solitary,  and  drooping  at  the 
ends  of  the  branches;  often  persistent  for  many  years.  Scales:  rounded-  per- 
sistent; thin,  and  becoming  wavy  toothed  at  the  apex.  ' 

To  speak  definitely  of  the  outlines  of  trees  is  often  difficult, 
for  they  adapt  themselves  with  wonderful  facility  to  the  various 
conditions  under  which  they  grow.  The  black  spruce  when  it 
inhabits  dense  thickets  sends  up  a  tall  and  slender  shaft,  quite 
free  from  branches  until  near  its  top  ;  but  when  growing  in  an 
open  swamp  with  plenty  of  room  for  a  free  development  it  is 
often  clothed  to  the  ground  wnth  vigourous  boughs.  It  then  is 
very  beautiful.  After  its  youth  has  passed,  however,  and  espe- 
cially in  cultivation  it  becomes  scraggly  and  rough  looking. 
Only  when  the  tree  is  surrounded  by  abundant  moisture  does 
it  thrive  well,  and  near  the  coasts  of  southern  New  England, 
New  York  and  New  Jersey,  it  occupies  many  small  swamps 
and  bogs.  From  those  of  the  red  spruce  its  leaves  are  readily 
distinguished   for  they  are  shorter  and  of  a  bluer  tint  of  green. 

The  timber  produced  by  the  black  spruce  is  valuable  and 
used  among  other  purposes  for  the  masts  and  spars  of  ships. 
It  is  pale  red  or  white,  straightly  grained,  and  is  marked  with 
rather  ornamental  small  knots.  From  the  northern  Indians  it 
was  that  Europeans  first  learned  to  boil  its  young  twigs  with 
honey,  and  to  extract  the  essence  of  spruce  which  is  employed 
in  making  beer  of  that  name. 

WHITE  SPRUCE.      {Plate  CXXIK) 
Plcea  Canadhisis. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Pine.        Cone-shaped,  slender.    30-100-150 yV^/.     Maine  and  north  April,  May. 

west  to  Minnesota. 

Bark:  brown;  scaly.  Twigs:  light  buff;  smooth.  Leaves:  light  olive- 
green;  simple;  growing  closely  and  singly  from  all  sides  of  the  branches; 
needle-shaped;  four-sided;  slender;  slightly  curved  and  sharply  pointed  on 
the  sterile  branches  ;  more  blunt  on  those  that  are  fertile;  glaucous.  Staminate 
flowers:  pale  red.  Cones:  one  to  two  inches  long  ;  pale  green  and  turning 
later  to  light  brown  or  tan  colour;  solitary;  drooping;  terminal  at  the  ends  of 


Scale  of  cone.        Staminate  flower. 

PLATE  CXXIV.     WHITE  SPRUCE.     Picea  Canadensis. 

(230') 


TREES  GROWING  IN  RICH  SOIL.  231 

the  branchlfets.  Oval,  or  cylindiical;  very  soft  to  the  touch  and  falling  at  the 
end  of  the  year.  Scales :  broadly  obovate;  rounded  or  twolobed  at  the  apex; 
entire. 

As  the  tall  shaft  of  the  white  spruce  raises  itself  above  the 
level  of  surrounding  things  and  spreads  its  branches  until 
they  form  a  cone-shaped  outline,  it  stands  distinct  and  clear 
against  the  monotonous  skyline.  Nature  shows  us  many  little 
differences  :  nothing  to  her  is  insignificant.  We  notice  therefore 
that  the  needles  of  the  spruces  have  fine  and  sharp  points  and 
that  they  are  arranged  all  about  and  on  every  side  of  the  little 
oranchlets.  The  fir  trees  have  blunt-pointed  needles,  and  the 
under  sides  of  their  twigs  are  not  covered  by  them.  That  this 
tree  may  not  be  confused  with  the  black  spruce,  its  bark  and 
foliage  are  both  lighter  in  colouring  ;  and  the  scales  of  its 
cones  are  thinner  and  more  papery  to  the  touch  than  either 
those  of  the  black  or  red  spruce.  (Pages  227  and  258).  Of  its 
clear,  exquisitely  white  or  faint  yellow  wood  the  best  specimens 
have  been  compared  to  satin-wood.  It  is  much  used  for  fine 
interior  finish. 

BALSAH  FIR.     BALfl  OF  Q I  LEAD  FIR.       {Plate  CXXV.) 

Abies  balsa  inea. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Pine.       Pyramidal;   branches,     ^o-to  feet.     Nortkivard  to  Minn.  Aprils  May. 

horizontal.  southward  to  VV.  Va. 

Bark:  grey;  smooth  and  horizontally  marked  as  though  with  blisters.  Little 
branchlets  growing  at  an  angle  of  forty-five  degrees  to  the  larger  ones.  Leaves  : 
one-half  or  barely  an  inch  long;  simple;  growing  singly  and  flatly  along  the 
branchlets;  needle-shaped;  notched  or  blunt  at  the  apex;  very  flat;  straight; 
grooved  above  and  having  a  raised  ridge  below;  dark  blue-green  above; 
silvery  bluish  white  below  ;  evergreen.  Odour;  aromatic.  Cones:  small;  from 
two  to  hardly  four  inches  long;  violet  colour  when  young,  becoming  light 
brown;  growing  erectly  on  the  upper  sides  of  the  branches.  Scales:  broadly 
rounded;  flat  and  thin;  opening  and  falling  when  the  seeds  are  ripe.  The 
inner  bract  of  the  scales  tipped  with  a  bristle.     Seeils :  resinous. 

Here  we  have  the  Christmas  tree,  the  one  most  often 
chosen  from  the  forest  to  be  the  central  figure  of  gay  and 
human  scenes.  But  who  that  has  read  Anderson's  story,  "  Der 
Tannenbaum,"  can  help  sympathising  with  the  little  stranger 


232 


TREES  GROWING  ]N  RICH  SOIL. 


as  it  stands  alone  amid  its  new  and  untried  surroundings  ? 
Although  it  had  ardently  longed  to  grow 
and  to  leave  the  quietude  of  the  forest, 
that  it  might  see  something  of  the  world 
without ;  it  had  been  hurt  by  the  axeman, 
and  it  found  almost  stifling  the  air  of  the 
brilliantly-lighted  room.  It  bled  at  its 
base  and  suffered. 

Even  in  cultivation  the  tree  is  short- 
lived. It  is  the  one,  it  is  well  to  remem- 
ber, from  which  the  needles  should  be 
gathered  to  fill  pillows. 

From  the  blister-like  portions  of  its 
bark,  balsam  is  abundantly  procured,  and 
the  air  laden  with  its  odours  is  known  to  have  certain  bene- 
ficial qualities,  especially  when  breathed  by  those  that  have 
pulmonary  diseases. 

A.  Fraseri,  Eraser's  balsam  fir,  is  a  beautiful  rare  tree 
which  grows  among  the  higher  Alleghany  mountains.  It  is  very 
like  the  preceding  species.  In  general  tone  it  is  olive-green 
although  the  under  side  of  the  needles  is  bluish  white,  and 
running  through  their  middle  is  a  line  of  bright  green.  The 
needles  are  very  blunt-pointed  and  grow  thickly  on  the  upper 
side  of  the  little  branchlets.  The  cones  are  small  and  oblong, 
and  the  inner  leaflet,  or  bract  of  the  scales,  projects  a  short  and 
reflexed  point. 


Abies  balshntea. 


PLATL 


dALSAM    fir.     AIhcs  l>a/sai//,a. 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,   BY  FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


Trees  Preferring    to    Grow   in  Sandy   or 
Rocky  Soil :    Hillsides  and  Barrens. 

"  Father,  thy  Jiand 
Hath  reared  these  venerable  columns,  thou 
Didst  weave  this  verdant  roof.      Thou  didst  look  doivn 
Upon  the  naked  eartJi,  a)id,  forthzuith,  rose 
All  these  fair  ranks  of  trees.      They,  in  thy  sun, 
Budded,  and  shook  their  greeii  leaves  in  thy  breeze, 
And  shot  tozvards  heaven.      The  century-living  crow 
Whose  birth  was  in  their  tops,  grezv  old  and  died 
A  niong  their  branches,  till  at  last,  they  stood. 
As  now  they  stand,  massy,  and  tall,  and  dark, 
Fit  sJirine  for  humble  worshipper  to  hold 
Communion  with  his  maker." 

A  Forest  Hymn. — BRYANT. 

PERSinnON.     DATE=PLUM.      {Plate  CXXVI.) 
Diosp^ros  Virginiatta. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Ebony.     Round-topped:   brandies,      lo-do  feet  or      Rhode  Isiand  south-  A[ay,June. 

spreading  or  pendulous.  higher.  ward  to  Fla.  and      Fruit:  Sept.-Nov. 

westward  to  Illinois. 

Bark:  almost  black  or  tinged  with  red  ;  rough  and  divided  into  plates  ;  as- 
tringent. Leaves:  three  to  five  inches  long  ;  simple  ;  alternate  ;  with  short, 
pubescent  petioles;  broadlv-lanceolate  or  oval,  with  pointed  apex  and  pointed, 
rounded  or  cordate  base  ;  dark  green  and  lustrous  al:)ove,  jiale  and  dull  under- 
neath ;  thick  ;  the  whole  leaf  bordered  with  a  delicate  fringe,  and  jiubescent 
when  young.  Flmvers  :  small  ;  greenish  yellow  ;  the  staminate  ones  mostly 
clustered,  the  pistillate  ones,  solitary;  axillary.  Cf/Zr^r ;  four-parted.  Corolla: 
bell-shaped;  four-cleft.  Fruit :  gXohose;  almost  sessile;  astringent  when 
green;  when  ripe  reddish  orange  or  rusty  brown  ;  edible;  sweet;  clinging  to 
the  branches  until  the  beginning  of  winter. 

In  the  fresh,  green  days  of  its  youth,  the  fruit  of  the  persim- 


234 


TREKS  GROWING  IN  SANDY  SOIL. 


mon  has  a  very  acrid  taste,  as  those  find  that  have  been  unable 
to  curb  their  impatience  and  have  allowed  its  prettiness  to 
tempt  them  to  "  try  and  see."  But  as 
it  grows  older,  perhaps  knows  life  bet- 
ter, and  has  been  mellowed  and  turned 
to  a  rich,  reddish  orange  or  brown  by 
the  unrelenting  touch  of  Jack  Frost,  it 
becomes  sweet  and  agreeable.  It  is 
also  not  until  after  the  tree  is  a  hun- 
dred years  old  that  it  develops  its 
heart-wood.  Then  it  is  nearly  black, 
very  firm  and  hard.  From  it  shuttles 
and  shoe  lasts  are  made.  In  fact,  al- 
most all  the  parts  of  the  tree  are  use- 
ful, as  was  well  known  by  the  Indians. 
They,  in  some  way,  dried  its  fruit  and  afterwards  made  it  into 
beer.  Combined  with  hops  it  is  still  brewed  into  domestic  beer, 
and  it  is  manufactured  into  brandy.  Tannin  is  also  found  in 
the  fruit  which  is  possessed  of  a  colouring  matter,  service- 
able in  making  indelible  ink.  The  seeds  have  been  roasted  as 
a  substitute  for  coffee.  From  the  bitter  bark  a  strengthening 
tonic  is  produced. 

Throughout  the  southern  part  of  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf 
states  the  tree  is  very  common,  and  many  of  them  are  often 
found  growing  thickly  together  in  a  shrubby  form.  The  Duke 
of  Argyle  presented  a  persimmon  tree  to  George  the  Third, 
and  it  is  said  to  be  still  contentedly  growing  in  the  old  abore- 
tum  at  Kew. 


Diospyros  Virginiana. 


CALIFORNIA  MAHOGANY.     {Plate  CXXVII.) 

RJnis  t7itegrifblia. 


FAMILY 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE 

TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Sum 

■Loui,  spreadins^. 

10-30  yVc/,  or 
1-2  feet. 

Coast  of  California. 

March,  April. 

Bark:  reddish   or  greyish  brown;  rough  and  ridged.     Leaves:   simple;  al- 
ternate ;  with  short,  pubescent  petioles ;  oval  ;  rounded  or  pointed  at  the  apex 


PLATE  CXavi.     FtRSiivlMuN.     Diospyros  Vir<^i>i  tan  a. 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,    BY  FREDERICK  «.  STOKES  COMPANY. 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


Staininaie  flower, 
enlarged. 

PLATE  CXXVll.     CALIFORNIA  MAHOGANY.     Rhus  integrifolia. 

(235) 


236  TREES  GROWING  IN  SANDY  SOIL. 

and  rounded  or  tapering  along  the  petiole  at  the  l)ase;  entire  or  sometimes  dis- 
tantly toothed,  wlien  the  sinuses  are  rounded,  deep  yellow,  green  above, 
paler  beneath  and  glabrous,  excepting  along  the  veins  and  midrib  ;  evergreen. 
Flowers:  dioecious  ;  small;  growing  in  terminal,  close  racemes.  Sepals:  five; 
rose  colour;  fringed  at  the  margin.  Petals:  five;  rose  colour;  rounded;  re- 
flexed.  Stamens:  five,  their  filaments  slender,  with  light  coloured  anthers. 
Berries:  ovate;  deep  red  and  covered  with  a  dark,  sticky  pubescence  ;  their 
juice  viscid  and  resinous. 

About  the  clusters  of  tiny  flowers  of  this  shrub  there  is  a 
flushed,  rosy  look  as  though  they  were  blushing.  Its  fruit  ap- 
pears more  assured  and  is  of  a  deep,  pure  red  which  makes  a 
fine  effect  among  its  leaves.  The  sticky  substance  with  which 
the  berries  are  covered  renders  them  unpleasant  to  handle,  and 
seems  to  warn  one  from  eating  them,  especially  when  the  rather 
unchristian-like  characteristics  of  some  of  their  relatives 
are  remembered.  Many  cooling  drinks,  however,  which  are 
said  to  be  excellent,  are  made  from  the  oily  substance  that 
abundantly  exudes  from  them. 

Growing  inland  in  the  sandy,  sterile  soil  about  California, 
Rhus  integrifolia  is  usually  found  as  a  small  tree  ;  but  when  it 
ventures  to  appear  along  the  bluffs  of  the  coast,  it  assumes  a 
low,  prostrate  position,  that  it  may  better  resist  the  tempests 
and  high  winds.  For  even  greater  protection,  numbers  of  them 
are  often  found  growing  closely  together.  Its  wood  is  a  clear 
red  and  handsome.     For  fuel  it  is  mostly  used. 

DWARF  THORN.      HAW.      {Plate  CXXVIII.) 

Cratagus  uniflbra. 


FAMILY 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE 

TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Apple. 

Bushy. 

3-8  or  12/eet. 

Southern  New   York 
southward. 

May. 
Fruit:    Oct. 

Bark:  ash  colour  ;  furrowed.  Thorns:  numerous;  nearly  one  to  two  inches 
long;  slender;  straight.  Leaves:  simple;  alternate;  almost  sessile;  spatu- 
late-obovate,  with  rounded  teeth  and  entire  at  the  base  ;  lustrous  and  glabrous 
above  at  maturity,  pubescent  underneath;  thick.  Flowers:  white;  usually 
one  only,  growing  on  a  short  j^eduncle  at  the  end  of  the  branchlets  amid  a  clus- 
ter of  leaves.  Calyx:  with  five  long  j^oints  which  equal  the  petals  in  length. 
C(3r^//(Z  .•  of  five,  rosaceous  petals.  Stamens:  numerous.  Styles:  five.  Fruit: 
yellowish;  gloljular  or  pear-shaped;  covered  with  hairs  when  young  and  con- 
taining five  hard  carpels. 

Often  in  the   sandy  soil  of  abandoned  fields  and    forest  bor- 


PLATE  CXXVIII.     DWARF  THORN.     Cratcpgtis  uinflora. 
(237) 


238  TREES  GROWING  IN  SANDY  SOIL. 

ders  we  find  the  dwarf  thorn.  Either  in  bloom  or  in  fruit  it  is 
a  pleasing,  cheery  sight,  and  it  makes  no  secret  of  its  family 
traits.  The  one  delicate  flower, — but  rarely  are  two  found, — 
that  snuggles  among  the  bright  green  leaves,  or  the  solitary 
fruit,  is  an  indication  of  its  species,  and  it  is  also  a  shrub. 
Only  along  the  banks  of  the  Appalachicola  River  in  Florida 
does  it  become  arborescent. 

It  is  always  a  gay  time  of  the  year  when  the  hawthorns 
blow.  The  pageant  of  colour  is  then  wending  its  way  to  its 
height  of  glory,  and  from  the  lowlands,  the  thickets  and  the 
swamps  are  seen  the  flowering  trees  and  shrubs.  Mountain 
sides  are  transformed  into  huge  bouquets.  The  air  is  soft,  and 
summer  has  come  again. 

AMERICAN  ASPEN.     WHITE  POPLAR.     QUAKING  ASP. 

{Plate  CXXIX.) 
Pdpulus  tremuloides. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Willow.       Round-topped,  syiiunetrical.       ■zo-Zo-ioo  feet.        General.  April. 

Bark:  nearly  black  at  the  base ;  rough  and  broken,  and  having  brownish 
blotches  under  the  branches.  Braiichlets :  greenish  white;  smooth;  bitter. 
Leaves:  simple;  alternate;  with  yellow  petioles  which  are  flattened  sideways; 
broadly-ovate  or  semi-orbicular  ;  rounded  or  abruptly  pointed  at  the  apex  and 
cordate  at  the  base  ;  sharply  and  regularly  serrate  ;  dark  green  and  lustrous 
above  at  maturity,  yellowish  green  and  glabrous  underneath,  but  downy  along 
the  edges  ;  when  young  covered  with  tomentum.  Kibs  ;  whitish  or  pale  yellow. 
Flmvers  :  dioecious ;  growing  in  drooping  catkins  and  appearing  before  the 
leaves.  The  scales  of  the  catkins  silky,  and  having  from  three  to  five  linear 
lobes. 

The  mythological  legend  concerning  the  poplars  comes  up- 
permost in  the  mind  when  watching  the  ceaselessly  trembling 
leaves  of  this  species. 

After  Phaeton  had  been  hurled  into  the  river  Eridanus  by 
the  thunderbolts  of  Jupiter,  for  the  peril  he  had  caused  by  at- 
tempting to  drive  his  father's  chariot,  his  three  sisters,  the 
Heliades,  greatly  lamented.  They  ever  sat  by  the  river's  edge 
and  wrung  their  hands  while  their  tears  ceaselessly  flowed.  At 
last   such    sorrow   touched    the  compassion    of   the   gods,  who 


Staminate  Ripe 

/lower.  capsule. 

PLATE  CXXIX.     AMERICAN  ASPEN.     Popiilus  iretnuloides. 
(239) 


240  TREES  GROWING  IN  SANDY  SOIL. 

changed  them  into  poplar  trees  and  their  tears  into  amber  ;  for 
it  was  the  belief  of  the  ancients  that  amber  flowed  like  tear- 
drops from  the  poplars. 

The  trees  hardly  suggest  to  us  to-day  such  poignant  grief. 
They  are  very  gay  and  silvery  when  glistening  and  moving  in 
the  sunshine,  and  in  the  autumn  they  are  fairly  suffused  with 
a  golden  glow. 

The  long  hairs  that  surround  the  seeds  of  Populus  tremu- 
loides  waft  them  to  considerable  distances  from  the  plants  by 
which  they  are  borne.  After  they  are  deposited  they  germin- 
ate quickly  and  are  well  adapted  to  grow  in  soil  that  has  been 
devoured  by  fire.  On  slopes  of  the  Rocky  mountains  where 
immense  tracts  of  land  have  thus  been  swept  over  and  the  con- 
iferous trees  destroyed,  this  tree  has  sprung  up  and  covered 
the  unsightly  places  with  its  stirring  leaves.  It  also  does  good 
work  in  holding  the  soil  of  steep  mountain  sides  together. 

"  But  here  will  sigh  thine  alder  tree, 
And  here  thine  aspen  shiver  ; 
And  here  by  thee  will  hum  the  bee, 
Forever  and  forever." 

— Tennyson, 

In  the  east  the  soft,  light  wood  of  Populus  tremuloides  is  mostly 
converted  into  wood  pulp  with  which  to  make  paper  or  used  as 
a  substitute  for  rags.  It  is  not  strong  or  durable,  but  it  is  tough 
and  when  bruised  rapidly  closes  its  wounds.  For  this  reason 
the  ancients  greatly  desired  it  for  bucklers.  In  early  spring 
the  northern  Indians  eat  its  sweet  inner  bark,  and  they  use  it 
for  fuel.     Even  while  green  it  burns  freely. 

LIVE  OAK.     {Plate  CXXX) 
Quircus  Virginidna. 


FAMILY 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE 

TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Beech. 

Head,  spreadingy 

40-60  feet. 

Virginia  to  Florida  and 

March,  April. 

broad. 

Mexico. 

Fruit:  Sept.,  Oct. 

Bark:  dark  brown;  deeply  furrowed.  Branches:  grey.  Leaves:  simple; 
alternate;  with  petioles  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  long;  ovate-lanceolate; 
with  rounded  apex  and  rounded  or  pointed  base;  entire,  the  edges  inclined  to 


>-■■:       Livt   uAK,      (j!/,-ni/s   \'u\^iiinj)ia. 

COPYRJGHT,    1900,    BY  FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY. 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  IN  SANDY  SOIL. 


241 


CM-ve  inward.  Occurring  also  in  a  spatulate  form  with  minute  side  teeth 
towards  the  apex.  Dark  green  and  glossy  above,  lighter  and  pubescent  under- 
neath; thick;  firm;  evergreen.  Floioers :  appearing  with  the  young  leaves; 
the  siamiiiate  ones  growing  in  long  axillary  catkins.  Acorns  :  growing  on 
long  stems.  Cup:  grey,  or  light  brown;  deep;  pointed  at  the  base  and 
covered  with  closely  compressed,  fine  and  downy  scales;  slightly  fringed  about 
the  top.     A^ui ;  dark  brown;  oval;  lustrous,  smooth. 

When  twilight  is  gathering  its  dimness  these  oaks  cast  broad 
shadows  upon  the  earth,  and  those  that  have  never  seen  their 
great  forms  in  the  south 
hung  with  the  swaying 
Tillandsia  can  hardly 
conceive  of  the  mysti- 
cal effect  they  then 
produce.  About  their 
small  evergreen  leaves 
there  seems  to  be  a 
firmness  of  purpose,  and 
the  whole  appearance 
of  the  trees  is  vigourous 
and  powerful 


^U^^^^^^ 


Qu^rcus  Virginiiina. 


Of  the  fifty  species  of  oaks  that  are  indigenous  to  America 
none  is  more  interesting  than  Quercus  Virginiana.  A  small 
spray  of  its  foliage,  such  as  is  illustrated  in  the  coloured  plate, 
bears  hardly  any  resemblance  to  that  of  the  red,  the  scarlet, 
the  white  or  many  of  the  other  oaks  so  familiar  in  the  north- 
eastern part  of  America.  It  rather  suggests  the  willow  oak, 
with  which  the  tree  is  often  found  growing.  The  acorns  of  the 
live  oak  are  small  and  among  the  quaintest  of  the  family. 

Quercus  Virginiana  produces  timber  which  is  rather  difficult 
to  work,  but  it  is  strong  and  compact  and  receives  readily  a 
high  polish.  It  is  much  used  in  ship  building.  The  bark  of 
the  tree  contains  considerable  tannin. 


242 


TREES  GROWING  IN  SANDY  SOIL. 


SPANISH  OAK.     {Plate  CXXXI.) 
Quircus  digitdta. 


FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT 

Beech.        Round-topped:       20-30  or  ?,ofeet. 
branches,  spreading. 


RANGE 

N.J.  southward  and 
westward. 


TIME  OF  BLOOM 

May,  June. 
Fruit:  i>ept.,  Oct. 


Bark:  brownish  red  or  almost  black;  rough  and  broadly-winged.  Leaves: 
simple;  alternate;  obovate  or  oblong,  widening  towards  the  middle  and 
forming  from  three  to  seven  long,  slender  lobes;  the  terminal  one  some- 
what scythe-shaped;  entire  or  sparingly  toothed  and  bristle  tipped;  the  base 
wedge-shaped  or  rounded,  frequently  one-sided.  Dark  green  and  glabrous 
above,  rusty  grey  and  pubescent  underneath.  Acorns:  small;  almost  sessile. 
Cup:  shallow.  Nut:  rounded  and  slightly  hollowed  at  the  apex.  Kernel : 
bitter. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  recognise  the  Spanish  oak  although  its 
leaves  are  very  variable  and  often  occur  on  separate  trees  or 

even  on  branches  of  the 
same  tree  in  two  distinct 
forms.  They  are  always 
downy  underneath.  Glanc- 
ing upward  through  one 
of  these  trees,  when  its  foli- 
age is  beginning  to  dry  and 
fall  in  the  autumn,  it  will  be 
noticed  to  have  a  more 
sharply  cut  and  angular  look 
than  that  of  any  other  of 
the  oaks.  The  effect  is 
owing  to  its  deeply  incised 
and  slender  lobes.  Soil 
and  climatic  conditions 
greatly  influence  the  tree's 
growth.  In  the  northern 
Atlantic  states  it  is  not  com- 
mon, and  it  clings  to  the 
In  southern  New  Jersey,  where  it  is  more  frequent, 
it  chooses  gravelly  places  and  barrens  for  its  habitat  ;  but  it 
does  not  then  attain  the  stately  and  slender  height  that  it  does 
southward.     It  there  grows  in  swamps,  often  side  by  side  with 


Qu^rcus  digitita. 


coast. 


PlAI'c   CXXXI.     SPANISH   OAK.      (luenusu', 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,    BV  FREDERICK  ».   STOKES  COMPANY 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  IN  SANDY  SOIL.  243 

the  swamp  white  oak,  and  its  bark  is  pale  and  scaly.  Its 
acorns  are  among  those  that  require  two  years  in  which  to 
ripen. 

The  reddish  brown  wood  of  the  Spanish  oak,  although  strong, 
IS  not  regarded  as  being  of  any  especial  value  excepting  for 
fuel.  Its  bark  contains  tannin  and  properties  which  are  of 
value  medicinally. 


SCARLET  OAK.     {Plate  CXXXII.) 
Qiierctis  cocchiea. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Beech.        Head,  narrow^         so-go  feet  or        New  England  south-  May,  June. 

open.  higher.  ward  and  westward.        Fruit:  Sept.,  Oct. 

Bark:  greyish  brown;  rough.  Inner  bark :  reddish.  Leaves:  large;  sim- 
ple; alternate;  slender-petioled;  broadly  oval;  often  squared  at  the  base  and 
having  from  five  to  nine  lobes,  which  frequently  extend  to  within  half  an  inch 
of  the  midrib;  toothed  and  bristle-tipped  at  their  ends;  sinuses,  broadly 
rounded.  Bright  green  and  lustrous  above,  lighter  beneath,  with  slender, 
yellow  midrib;  glabrous.  Floivcrs :  monoecious;  yellowish  green;  the  stam- 
inate  ones  growing  in  slender  catkins,  the  pistillate  ones,  bright  red  and 
clustered  on  pubescent  peduncles.  Acorns:  sessile  or  growing  on  peduncles; 
quite  large.  Cup:  scaly,  with  conical  base.  Nut:  one-half  to  three-quarters 
of  an  inch  long;  rounded.     Kernel :  white;  bitter. 

All  minor  characteristics  of  the  scarlet  oak  seem  to  be 
immersed  in  the  brilliant  bright  red  of  its  autumn  foliage,  the 
most  exquisite  tint  displayed  by  any  one  of  the  family.  But 
those  that  have  watched  its  unfolding  leaves  in  the  spring 
know  that  they  too  were  red  when  they  first  peeped  shyly  out 
at  the  world,  and  it  therefore  does  not  seem  strange  that  when 
they  are  about  to  die  they  should  return  to  their  early  convic- 
tions. The  tree  at  all  times  is  a  charmingly  gay  feature 
of  the  landscape  and  when  seen  must  ever  surpass  the 
accounts  that  have  been  written  about  it.  In  sandy  or  light, 
dry  soil  it  grows,  often  beside  the  black  oak,  and  it  is  much 
seen  and  desired  in  cultivation. 

The  custom  of  the  oak  family  is  for  its  pistillate  flowers  to 
grow  in  an  involucre  that  appears  like  a  bud,  and  it  is  this 
involucre  which  later  becomes  the  cup,  or  cupule.     When  the 


Steriic  ait/,: ins. 


PLATE  CXXXII.     SCARLET  OAK.     Quercus  coccinea. 

(244) 


PLATE  CXXXIII.      BLACK  OAK.      Oiu-nus  vciulina. 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,    BY   FREDERICK  A.   STOKES  COMPANY. 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  IN  SANDY  SOIL.  245 

nut  drops  into  the  ground  and  begins  to  germinate  it  does  not 
send  up  at  once  two  cotyledons  from  the  summit  of  its  hypocotyl. 
They,  in  the  husk,  have  become  so  thickened  as  to  have  lost 
their  power  of  acting  as  leaves,  and  they  occupy  nearly  the  whole 
of  the  seed.  Instead,  therefore,  of  growing  themselves,  they 
supply  to  the  plumule,  or  little  bud  which  lies  between  them,  an 
abundance  of  nourishment.  For  this  reason  when  it  sends  up 
the  first  joint  of  its  stem,  the  first  leaves  that  appear  on  it  are 
imperfect,  often  little  more  than  scales.  The  true  cotyledons 
have  remained  below.     [Flafe  VI.). 

BLACK  OAK.     QUERCITRON.     YELLOW=BARK  OAK. 

{Plate  CXXXIII.) 
Qiiircus  velntlna. 

Between  the  black  oak  and  the  scarlet  oak  there  are  certain 
differences  in  colour  which  may  aid  many  to  distinguish  them. 
It  is  true  thit  at  times  they  are  dissimilar  in  leafage,  but  again 
the  black  oak  is  so  very  variable  that  some  of  its  forms  are 
nearly  identical  with  those  of  Quercies  coccinea. 

The  kernel  of  its  nut  is  bright  yellow  and  smaller  than  that 
of  the  scarlet  oak,  which  is  white.  But  unfortunately  the 
acorns  mature  in  September  and  October  only,  so  during  the 
early  part  of  the  summer  we  must  seek  out  some  otiier  unchang- 
ing difference  between  them.  Again  we  are  aided  by  colour. 
The  bark  of  the  black  oak  is  a  dark  br6wn,  or  nearly  black,  and  it 
is  broken  into  close  scales.  A  still  more  poignant  difference 
is  that  its  inner  bark  is  deep  orange,  never  reddish  or  grey. 
In  the  spring  its  leaves  are  red,  and  they  turn  when  the 
tree  blooms  to  a  silvery  green.  They  are  rich  red  or  russet 
in  hue  in  the  autumn  and  quite  without  the  vivid  touch  of 
colour  which  is  the  chief  charm  of  the  scarlet  oak. 

The  tree  grows  with  a  narrow,  open  head  to  a  height  of  from 
seventy  to  eighty  or  even  a  hundred  feet.  It  is  never  as 
stately  as  the  red  oak.     In  the    coloured    plate  the  leaves  are 


243  TREES  GROWING  IN  SANDY  SOIL. 

represented  in  their  broadest  form.  As  they  then  appear  and 
after  they  have  lost  their  bristles,  which  they  often  do  at  matur- 
ity, they  have  a  blunt  and  pronounced  expression  quite  at  vari- 
ance with  that  of  their  narrower  forms.  Although  generally  pu- 
bescent underneath,  the  leaves  become  smoother  as  they  grow 
old.  In  gravelly  uplands  the  tree  is  found,  and  from  Maine 
southward  to  Florida  and  westward. 

Quercitron,  a  well-known  dye,  is  extracted  from  the  bark  of 
the  black  oak  which  is  also  valuable  because  of  its  abundant 
yield  of  tannin.  A  substance  is  besides  taken  from  it  that  has 
considerable  efficacy  when  used  for  external  applications. 

LABRADOR  PINE.     GREY  PINE.     NORTHERN  SCRUB 

PINE.     BANK'S  PINE.     {Plate  CXXXIV.) 

Plmis  divaricdta. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Pine.       Head^  open:  branches,     ^orZa-iao/eet.     Sotctliuuxrd  io  Maine  May,  June. 

long,  straggly.  and  New  i'ork,  west- 

ward to  Illinois. 

Bark  :  dark  brown  ;  irregularly  ridged  and  flaky  when  old.  Tzuigs  :  red- 
dish. Leaves:  one  inch  long;  greyish  green  ;  simple  ;  growing  closely  crowded 
along  the  branches  in  bunches  of  two  with  sheaths  at  their  bases  and  diverging 
widely ;  needle-shaped ;  pointed  at  the  apex ;  grooved  above  and  curved  ; 
rigid  ;  evergreen.  Cones  :  about  two  inches  long  ;  numerous;  oblong-conical; 
growing  usually  in  pairs  and  curving  upward  in  the  direction  of  the  branches  ; 
thick.  Scales  :  blunt ;  thickened  at  the  apex  and  lipped  when  young  with  a 
spine ;  glabrous. 

About  the  great  there  is  simplicity,  and  somehow  we  are 
sensible  of  this  when  we  stand  before  these  grave  inhabitants 
of  the  forests,  the  pines.  They  have  lived  long  on  the  globe. 
In  fact,  the  coniferous  trees  knew  the  world  in  one  of  its  earli- 
est geological  ages,  the  Age  of  Reptiles.  Flying  things  were 
then  not  developed,  but  it  mattered  little  to  them.  The  wind 
was  already  old  and  in  spite  of  its  extravagance  served  well 
to  distribute  their  pollen.  From  its  aid  they  have  never  de- 
parted in  favour  of  the  gay,  gauzy  and  prudent  insect  messen- 
gers of  a  later  time.     This  is  not  true,  however,  of  all  trees. 

It  is  interesting  to  notice  the  extreme    simplicity  of  the  or- 


Scale  of  cone. 
PLATE  CXXXIV.     LABRADOR  PINE.     Pintts  divarzcata. 

(247) 


248  TREES  GROWING  IN  SANDY  SOIL. 

gaiis  by  which  these  great  beings  reproduce  themselves.  The 
fertile  flowers  of  the  pines  proper  grow  in  scaly  catkins  which 
later  develop  into  cones.  Their  pistils  are  not,  as  ordinarily, 
leaves  rolled  together  so  as  to  form  closed  pods.  They  are 
always  open,  scale-like  leaves  which  bear  on  their  inner  sur- 
faces, near  the  base,  two  or  more  ovules.  About  the  woody 
axis  of  the  cone  they  grow  in  a  spiral  fashion,  subtended  by 
the  woody  cone-scales.  When  the  pollen  is  falling  from  the 
stamens  these  pistil  leaves  of  the  young  cone  are  ready  to  re- 
ceive it,  that  it  may  fall  directly  upon  the  exposed  ovules.  As 
it  slips  in  between  the  opening  scales  it  is  caught  by  a  tiny 
drop  of  fluid  which  exudes  from  the  coat  of  the  ovule.  When 
the  fluid  is  then  absorbed,  the  little  grain  comes  closely  in  con- 
tact with  the  ovule's  surface.  As  soon  as  this  is  accomplished 
the  cone-scales  close  tightly  over  each  other  to  protect  the 
forming  seeds,  and  not  until  they  are  ripe  do  they  again  diverge 
and  assume  a  drooping  position  to  allow  of  their  escape.  The 
sterile  flowers  also  are  simple,  almost  primitive  in  construction. 
They  grow  in  long,  close  tufts  at  the  ends  of  the  branches, 
for  both  sorts  of  flowers  are  produced  on  the  same  tree.  We 
may  regard  them  as  single  stamens  which  have  been  reduced 
to  a  two-celled  anther  with  hardly  any  filament.  From  them 
the  pollen  flies  in  golden  clouds  during  the  days  of  May. 
Each  little  grain  is  floated  about  by  two  bladder-like  wings. 
They  can  be  caught  and  examined  under  a  microscope  ;  for  it 
only  needs  a  quickened  observation  to  see  them  abundantly 
lying  about, 

Pinus  divaricata  occurs  both  as  a  shrub  and  as  a  tree.  It  is 
not  very  beautiful,  for  its  short  needles  give  it  a  blunt,  obtuse 
look.  But  its  wood  is  much  used  for  the  making  of  charcoal. 
It  is  quite  resinous.  The  Canadian  Indians  find  it  easy  to 
work  and  often  construct  from  it  the  frames  of  their  canoes. 

About  the  tree  still  clings  some  fetish  idea,  and  in  parts  of 
the  country,  women,  to  whom  it  is  especially  supposed  to  work 
mischief,  loudly  declare    that  they   would    not  pass  within  ten 


TREES  GROWING  IN  SANDY  SOIL. 


349 


feet  of  it.  The  soil  in  which  it  grows  is  said  to  be  poi- 
soned by  it,  and  thus  it  wrealcs  an  indirect  injury  upon  brows- 
ing cattle.  The  only  way  to  dispel  its  supposed  evil  influence 
is  to  have  it  mysteriously  burned  down,  as  the  superstitious 
dread  of  it  is  strong  enough  to  preserve  it  from  the  axe. 


CANADIAN  PINE.     RED  PINE.     {Plate  CXXXV.) 


Ptnus  resindsa. 


FAMILY 
Pine. 


SHAPE 
Fyramiiiui,  irregular. 


TIME  OF  BLOOM 
■^■'"J'.  June. 


HEIGHT  RANGE 

c^o-<)0-\%o/ect.     Neiv  Foundland  and 
noriliivard  to 
Wisconsin. 

Bark :  reddish  brown  ;  almost  smooth ;  becoming  scaly  when  old 
Branches :  red;  smooth.  Leaves:  five  to  eight  inches  long;  dark  green 
simple  ;  growing  along  the  branches  in  bunches  of  two  and  having  at  their 
bases  a  long,  persistent  sheath  ;  needle-shaped ;  rounded  on  the  upper  side, 
the  lower  one  hollowed;  supple;  glabrous.  Cones:  two  to  three  inches  long; 
growing  at  the  apex  of  the  branches  in  crowded  clusters ;  ovate-conical  ;  glab- 
rous. Scales :  rounded  at  their  bases  ;  somewhat  thickened  and  having  no 
prickly  points. 

It  is  to  the  clear,  bright  colour 
of  the  bark  of  its  trunk  that  this 
species  of  pine  owes  its  name  of 
red  pine,  but  its  specific  name  is 
rather  misleading.  The  tree  is 
not  nearly  so  rich  in  resin  as 
many  another.  This  resin  which 
we  find  in  the  wood  of  coniferous 
trees  plays  an  important  part  in 
their  construction.  With  the  oil 
of  turpentine  which  is  held  in  the 
tree,  it  forms  a  sticky  substance 
well  known  as  balsam.  And  bal- 
sam is  the  balm  for  all  the  pine 
tree's  wounds.  Wherever  the 
trunk,  the  branches,  or  even  the 
leaves  have  been  bruised  it  ex- 
udes and  adheres  closely  to  the 
spot.     By  the  action  of  the  sun  Pinus  resindsa. 


Stnminate 
Jlowering  branch. 

PLATE  CXXXV.     CANADIAN   PINE.     Pimis  resinosa. 
(250) 


TREES  GROWING  IN  SANDY  SOIL.  251 

and  the  air  it  is  then  hardened  into  a  soothing  plaster  which 
prevents  the  vital  fluids  from  escaping.  Through  the  aid  of  bal- 
sam therefore  the  tree  is  often  saved  from  dying  and  is  kept 
alive  for  a  long  time,  even  although  it  has  been  girdled.  The 
heart-wood  of  many  pines  also  never  seems  to  grow  old.  When 
necessary  it  can  resume  the  function  of  its  youth  and  pilot  the 
sap  up  to  the  leaves  for  nourishment. 

The  wood  of  the  Canadian,  or  red  pine,  is  pale  red,  hard  and 
compact.  Its  grain  is  not  nearly  so  beautiful  as  that  of  the 
yellow  pine.  For  many  purposes  it  is  used,  such  as  the  con- 
struction of  bridges,  and  it  is  largely  exported  from  Canada  to 
Great  Britain.     The  bark  contains  tannin. 

Although  always  a  picturesque  tree,  it  is  in  its  youth  that 
Pinus  resinosa  is  most  beautiful.  Its  long,  supple  needles  then 
grow  in  clusters  along  the  branches  as  well  as  in  thick,  soft 
tufts  at  their  extremities.  As  the  tree  grows  old  the  side 
needles  fall  away,  and  were  it  not  for  the  end  clusters  it  would 
look  almost  as  though  it  were  dead. 

JERSEY  PINE.     SCRUB  PINE.     {Plate  CXXXVI.) 
Ptnus  Virgz'fizdna. 

FAMILY                     SHAPE  HEIGHT                       RANGE                   TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Pine.        Pyramidal,  irregular;  i^-^o/eet,  Easiern  States  to  South        April,  May. 

branches,  scraggly,  or  higher.  Carolina  and  Indiana, 
drooping. 

Bark :  greyish  brown  or  black ;  rough  ;  flaky.  Branches :  smooth ;  the 
twigs  purplish;  glaucous.  Leaves:  from  nearly  one  to  three  inches  long; 
deep  yellow-green;  simple;  growing  closely  along  the  branches  in  bunches  of 
two  and  sheathed  at  their  bases  ;  when  old  spreading  ;  needle-shaped  ;  round 
and  glabrous  on  the  upper  side,  flat  and  rough  below ;  slightly  curved;  stiff. 
Cones:  from  nearly  two  to  three  inches  long;  solitary;  ovate-oblong  and 
growing  on  short  stalks.  Scales  :  thin  ;  thickened  at  the  apex  and  tipped  with 
a  stiff,  awl-shaped  prickle  ;  often  cracked  horizontally. 

From  the  subtle  but  recognised  lines  of  beauty  this  pine  has 
indeed  departed,  and  its  reputation  is  that  of  not  being  hand- 
some. But  who  shall  say  that  its  rugged,  irregular  growth  does 
not  present  beauty  in  another  than  the  conventional  form? 
Surely  in  the  regions  where  it  grows  no  one  stops  to  criticise  it, 


Stnminaie  flower.  Scale  of  cone. 


PLATE  CXXXVI.     JERSEY  PINE.     Pinus  Virginiana. 
(252) 


Plate  CXXXVII.     long-leaved   pine,     rnms pa/ustris. 

COPYRIGHT,    1900,    BY  FREDERICK  *.  STOKES  COMPANY. 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  IN  SANDY  SOIL.  953 

or  to  think  that  it  is  other  than  attractive.  Over  fields  where 
the  soil  has  been  exhausted  by  succeeding  crops  it  spreads 
itself  rapidly  and  lends  a  sturdy,  wholesome  look  to  the  land- 
scape. Sometimes  it  forms  dark  forests.  One  of  its  strong 
points  of  individuality  is  that  its  branches  are  smooth  ;  those  of 
other  pines  are  usually  scaly.  In  the  Atlantic  states  it  rarely 
grows  to  a  great  height. 

The  reddish-yellow  wood  of  the  Jersey  pine  is  resinous  and 
not  very  strong.  It  is  brittle  and  pithy  in  substance,  and  for 
these  reasons  is  of  rather  inferior  value. 

LONQ=LEAVED  PINE.     SOUTHERN  YELLOW  PINE. 

Q  EORQ I A  PI  N  E.     {Plate  CXXX  VII) 

Plnus  palilstris. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Pine.         Head,  round,  open:      -jo^a-iio  feet.      North  Carolina  south-       March,  Apr il.\ 
trunk,  slender.  ivard  to  Texas. 

Bark:  orange-brown,  separating  into  thin  scaly  plates.  Leaves  :  ten  to  fifteen 
inches  long;  dark  bluish  green;  simple;  growing  closely  in  bunches  of  three, 
and  forming  thick  tufts  at  the  ends  of  the  branches;  sheaths  from  one  to  one 
and  a  quarter  inches  long;  slender;  flexible.  Cones  :  six  to  ten  inches  long; 
light  brown;  cylindrical;  terminal;  erect.  Scales :  thick,  with  small,  blunt  spines 
at  their  ends. 

To  those  that  have  walked  through  the  great  forests  formed 
by  this  tree  and  by,  among  others,  the  white  cedars  and  live  oaks, 
there  must  always  cling  a  memory  of  the  impression  made  by 
its  masses  of  long,  flexible  needles  and  its  beautiful  cones. 
About  it  there  is  the  same  appearance  of  gravity  and  aloofness 
which  characterises  so  many  of  the  pines.  It  seems  as  thougli 
they  were  less  playful,  more  reserved  than  the  deciduous-leaved 
trees  ;  as  though  even  Nature  did  not  venture  to  dress  and 
undress  them  just  whenever  she  chose. 

Of  the  pitch  pines  this  great  tree  is  the  most  valuable,  and 
so  extensively  has  its  wood  been  utilized  that  the  very  name 
Georgia  pine  is  suggestive  of  commerce.  Viaducts,  bridges, 
trestle-work  and  great  quantities  of  railroad  ties  are  made 
from  it.     Even  its  stumps  are  cut  up  and  sold  in  bundles  for 


254 


TREES  GROWING  IN  SANDY  SOIL. 


kindling  wood.  The  colour  of  the  wood  is  a  deep,  rich  orange, 
yellow  or  light  red,  and  it  is  more  ornamental  than  that  fur- 
nished by  any  other  of  the  pines. 
Its  juices  also  are  valuable,  and 
supply  the  greater  part  of  our 
turpentine,  resin  and  tar.  In  the 
"  turpentine  country  "  of  Georgia 
it  is  truly  a  pathetic  sight  to  see 
these  trees  when  girdled  and 
bruised  from  the  process  of  box- 
ing. Their  juices  have  then  been 
drawn  off  and  sent  to  be  distilled. 
Even  before  the  Revolution  this 
making  of  turpentine  was~ar~large 
industry  in  this  country.  For 
many  years  the  trees  exist — it  can 
hardly  be  called  living — and  some- 
times a  small  tuft  of  green  at 
their  top  is  all  that  distinguishes 
them  from  those  that  are  dead. 
Were  it  not  for  the  long  continued  activity  of  their  heart-wood 
and  the  healing  salve  of  their  balsam  they  would  have  neces- 
sarily succumbed.  Through  its  extensive  usefulness,  however, 
the  tree  seems  to  be  doomed  by  the  axe.  Even  the  young 
trees  when  they  occur  among  objectionable  undergrowth  are 
set  on  fire  that  they  may  clear  it  away,  and  their  ashes  improve 
and  fertilize  the  land.  At  Christmas  time  also  in  the  south 
many  fall  every  year  for  the  decoration  of  houses  and  churches. 


Pi  n  u  s  palustr  is. 


SHORT-LEAVED  PINE.    YELLOW  PINE.    SPRUCE  PINE. 

BULL-PINE.     {Plate  CXXXVIII.) 

Plnits  echindta. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE 

Pine.        Pyramidal:  branches,      i^o-\iofeet.       Neiv  York  to  Florida 
spreading,  regular.  westward  to  Kansas. 

Bark  :  greyish  brown;  rough;  much  broken  into  plates.     Branchlets :  green 
or  purplish;  stout;  glaucous  when  young.     Leaves:  three  to  five  inches  long ; 


TIME  OF  BLOOM 

May ,  June. 


PLATE  CXXXVIll.     SHORT-LEAVED   PINE.      J'iiuis  eclin:.Ua. 


COPrRIGHT,    1900,    BY  FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANlf 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  IN  SANDY  SOIL.  255 

dark  bluish  green;  simple;  growing  closely  along  the  branches  in  bunches  of 
two,  or  sometimes  three  on  the  young  shoots,  and  having  sheaths  at  their  bases; 
diverging  widely  at  maturity;  needle-shaped;  slender;  dark  green,  and  rounded 
on  the  outer  side,  hollowed  on  the  inner  one;  soft;  evergreen.  Cones :  one  and 
a  half  to  two  inches  long;  ovate;  solitary  and  lateral;  rough  and  jagged  as  they 
grow  older.  Scales:  thick  at  the  apex,  and  tipped  with  a  weak,  projecting 
prickle  which  falls  early. 

Dark,  but  clear  against  the  autumn  sky,  this  handsome  tree 
raises  itself  on  the  sandy  hills,  or  in  the  flat  meadows.  It 
breathes  a  sense  of  sturdiness.  Often  we  see  its  leaves  so 
clothed  with  dust  that  the  very  life  of  their  colouring  appears 
to  be  gone  ;  then  they  are  washed  by  the  rain,  and  their  sombre 
brightness  is  restored.  By  the  coloured  illustration,  which  is 
very  beautiful,  the  distinctive  cones  of  the  species  are  clearly 
represented.  When  they  are  old  and  lying  useless  upon  the 
ground  they  are  quite  jagged  and  have  a  used-up  ex- 
pression. 

The  tree  is  rather  generally  distributed  and  seems  to  be  get- 
ting in  readiness  to  supply  a  new  crop  of  valuable  timber  when 
that  of  Pinus pdlustris,  long-leaved  pine,  from  which  its  com- 
mon name  of  short-leaved  pine  is  used  as  a  designation,  shall  be 
exhausted.  In  many  ways  the  wood  of  the  two  trees  is  similar, 
although  that  of  Pinus  echinata  can  hardly  boast  as  rich  a  col- 
our. It  has,  however,  the  same  beautiful  lines.  It  is  closely  or 
coarsely  grained  and  varies  greatly  in  quality.  It  is  only  mod- 
erately resinous.  For  all  kinds  of  building  and  carpentry  it  is 
of  inestimable  value.  When  used  for  fuel  it  emits  a  large 
amount  of  heat  and  burns  with  a  lively,  brilliant  flame. 

PITCH  PINE.     TORCH  PINE.     CANDLEWOOD  PINE. 

{Plate  C XXXIX.) 
Plnus  rigida. 


FAMILY 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE 

TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Pine. 

Head.,  open;  branches, 

irregular:  trunk., 

ciirving. 

30-80  yVf/. 

Eastern  and  Middle 
states:  Ga.  and  Ky. 

April,  May. 

Bark:  dark,  tinged  with  purple  or  red;  rough  and  deeply  furrowed;  separat- 
ing into  strips.  Leaves:  three  to  six  inches  long;  dark  yellow-green;  simple; 
growing   closely  along  the  branches    in  bunches  of   three  and    having   short 


256 


TREES  GROWING  IN  SANDY  SOIL. 


sheaths  at  their  bases;  at  maturity  spreading;  needle-shaped;  flattened  on 
the  outer  side,  the  inner  one  slightly  ridged  and  rough;  curved  ;  rigid;  sharp  ; 
evergreen.  Under  the  microscope  the  surface  can  be  seen  to  be  marked  with 
fine  white  dots.  Cones:  one  and  a  half  to  three  inches  long;  growing  mostly 
ill  clusters  of  two  or  four;  ovoid-conical;  lateral.  Scales:  thickened  at  their 
apex  and  tipped  with  a  stiff  and  sometimes  recurved  prickle. 

How  much  the  trees  give  to  man ;  the  life  element  of 
the  air  he  breathes  is  only  the  beginning  of  their  generosity, 
for  they  supply  his  wants  as  well.  It  seems  as  though  they 
had  a  grand,  stupid  fondness  for  the 
whole  animal  world. 

The  pitch  pine  is  rough  and  scraggly 
in  appearance,  and  its  light,  reddish-brown 
timber  is  coarse  and  of  slight  value.  But 
its  wood  contains  an  immense  quantity  of 
pitch,  and  so  it  is  desirable  for  fuel  and 
for  making  charcoal.  It  is  also  rich  in 
tar  and  turpentine.  Through  the  pine 
barrens  of  Long  Island  and  especially  of 
New  Jersey  where  it  forms  the  bulk  of 
**  the  pines"  it  is  well  known.  It  grows 
rapidly  and  can  sustain  itself  in  soil  where 
pinusrigida.  many  others  would  die  from   a    lack   of 

nourishment.  Even  when  cut  down  numerous  and  vigourous 
shoots  often  spring  up  from  its  stump.  Occasionally  the 
tree  inhabits  cold,  deep  swamps.  About  Cape  Cod  and  on  Nan- 
tucket a  most  interesting  and  successful  experiment  has  been 
made  in  sowing  its  seeds. 

On  February  27,  1855,  Thoreau  wrote  in  his  journal:  "A 
week  or  two  ago  I  brought  home  a  handsome  pitch  pine  cone, 
which  had  freshly  fallen  and  was  closed  perfectly  tight.  It 
was  put  into  a  table-drawer.  To-day  I  am  agreeably  surprised 
that  it  has  there  dried  and  opened  with  perfect  regularity, 
filling  the  drawer,  and  from  a  solid,  narrow  and  sharp  cone  has 
become  a  broad,  rounded,  open  one,  has  in  fact  expanded  into 
a  conical   flower  with   rigid  scales,  and  has   shed  a  remarkable 


Staminate  branch. 


Enlarged  staminate  /lower.  Cone. 

PLATE  CXXXIX.     PITCH  PINE.    Piniis  rigida. 
(257) 


258  TREES  GROWING  IN  SANDY  SOIL. 

quantity  of  delicate  winged  seeds.  Each  scale,  which  is  very 
elaborately  and  perfectly  constructed,  is  armed  with  a  short 
spine  pointing  downward,  as  if  to  protect  its  seeds  from  squir- 
rels and  birds.  That  hard,  close  cone,  which  defied  all  violent 
attempts  to  open  it,  and  could  only  be  cut  open,  has  thus 
yielded  to  the  gentle  persuasion  of  warmth  and  dryness. 
"  The  expanding  of  the  pine  cones,  that,  too,  is  a  season." 

RED  SPRUCE.     {Plate  CXL) 

Plcea  rubens. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Pine.       Pyramidal;   branches.,     "jo-yoo  feet.     Maine  to  Ga.  ivestward  May,  June, 

spreading-.  to  Minnesota. 

Bark:  reddish  brown;  scaly,  or  nearly  smooth.  Twigs:  light  green  when 
young;  slender;  pubescent.  Leaves:  olive-green;  simple;  scattered  closely 
along  the  branches;  needle-sha]:)ed;  straight  or  incurved  above  the  middle; 
pointed  or  rounded  at  the  apex;  lustrous  at  maturity.  Cones  :  from  one  to  two 
and  a  half  inches  long;  green,  turning  later  to  purplish  brown;  oval  or  ovoid, 
and  falling  at  the  end  of  the  first  season  or  during  the  winter.  Scales :  undu- 
late; often  two-lobed. 

Although  favouring  gravelly  slopes,  the  red  spruce  is  also 
found  in  the  forests  along  with  the  white  pine,  the  balsam  fir,  the 
yellow  birches  and  the  sugar  maples.  It  is  most  abundant  in 
northern  New  England  and  New  York,  In  fact  it  is  the  prin- 
cipal timber  spruce  of  the  northeastern  United  States.  The 
dense  groves  often  formed  by  it  appear  like  waves  of  rich,  dark 
colouring,  and  cast  about  deep  and  melancholy  shadows.  From 
the  black  spruce  the  tree  is  rather  unsatisfactorily  distinguished 
by  the  size  and  shape  of  its  staminate  blossoms  and  its  cones. 
The  latter  are  the  larger  of  the  two,  and  they  mature  and  fall 
during  their  first  winter.  Those  of  the  black  spruce  are  often 
persistent  for  many  years.  Recent  observations  by  Dr.  Britton 
and  by  Prof.  Peck,  State  botanists  of  New  York,  seem,  however, 
to  indicate  that  they  are  different  forms  of  one  species.  The 
timber  of  the  tree  is  similar  to  that  of  the  black  spruce.  It  is 
light  and  soft,  closely  grained,  and  has  a  beautiful  surface  like 
satin.     For  the  flooring  of  houses  it  is  much  used.     Paper  pulp 


PLATE  CXL.     RED  SPRUCE.     Picea  rubens. 
(259) 


26o 


TREES  GROWING  IN  SANDY  SOIL. 


is  made  from  the  wood,  and  much  of  the  spruce  beer  that  is 
manufactured  owes  its  existence  to  this  tree.  In  many  places 
it  springs  up  where  once  the  white  pine  was  known. 


NORWAY  SPRUCE.     {Plate  CXLI.) 

Picea  excelsa. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Pine.       Pyramidal :  branches,  low,     50-120  feet.     Widely  cultivated.         April,  May. 
inclined  to  droop. 

Bark:  greyish  black;  rough.  Braiuhlets:  brown;  stout.  Leaves:  dark  olive- 
green;  simple;  scattered  singly  and  closely  about  all  sides  of  the  branches; 
needle-shaped;  four-sided;  slightly  curved;  sharp.  Cones  :  five  to  seven  inches 
long;  reddish  brown;  almost  cylindiical,  and  hanging  from  the  ends  of  the 
branches.     Sea/es:  large;  pointed. 

From  the  great  forests  of  Norway  this  tree  has  been  taken^ 
and  it  is  now  so  widely  planted  in  this  country  that  many  re- 
gard it  as  a  native.  To  all  hardly  any  tree  is  more  familiar,  for 
Its  great  size,  its  conspicuous  cones  and  its 
drooping  branches,  with  which  it  is  often 
clothed  to  the  ground,  make  it  a  marked 
figure  anywhere.  There  are  many  vari- 
eties of  it  which  are  sold  at  the  nurseries. 
From  cultivation  it  sometimes  escapes 
and  apparently  attempts  to  enjoy  a  state 
of  freedom  and  abandon  similar  to  that 
it  has  known  in  its  native  land.  To 
watch  the  new  leaves  come  on  the 
sj)ruces  in  the  budding  days  of  spring  is  a 
great  delight.  The  extremities  of  all 
the  branches  are  then  tipped  very  deli- 
I'fy^  cately  with  a  soft  yellow-green,  quite  dif- 
ferent from  the  weather-beaten  look  of 
the  rest  of  the  foliage  which  has  upheld 
masses  of  ice  throughout  the  winter. 
To  the  tree  these  young  bits  give  a  wonderful  appearance  of 
freshness  and  newness  of  life. 


Picea  excelsa. 


Scale  o/  cone. 

PLATE  CXLI.     NORWAY  SPRUCE.     Ptcea  exceha. 
(261) 


Trees    Preferring  to  Grow  in   Light    or 

Dry  Soil ;    Upland  Places,  Meadows  and 

Roadsides. 

IV/ien  lo7v  upon  the  meadows  adjoining  the  roadsides  hangs 
a  mist  so  zvhite  as  to  suggest  a  pJiantovi  lake,  and  the  air  is 
chilled  ivith  a  scent  of  moisture,  tJien  the  time  of  the  autumn 
haze  has  come.  Through  it  dimly  can  be  seen  the  outlines  of 
trees.  Trees  at  ivhose  bases  are  soft  beds  of  brown  leaves. 
They  have  finished  their  zvork  and  their  frolic  %vith  the  high 
luinds  which  have  coaxed  them  aivay  from  the  boughs. 
Grateful  then  must  the  trees  feel  to  the  mist  that  etishrouds 
them  while  grief  for  their  loss  is  fresh,  and  before  they  have 
learned  to  silently  appear  naked  before  the  winter. 

SNOWBERRY.     CORAL=BERRY.     INDIAN  CURRANT. 

{Plate  CXLII.) 
Symphoricdrpos  Syjiiphorzcdrpos. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Honeysuckle.      Erect,  ipreading.       2-s/eet.        Ga.  and  No.  Carolina  July. 

jiorihuiarei.  Fruit:    Sept. 

Branches:  purplish  brown:  pubescent.  Leaves:  simple;  alternate;  with 
short  petioles  ;  oval;  blunt  or  rounded  at  both  ends  ;  entire  ;  glabrous  above 
and  pubescent  underneath.  Flowers  :  growing  in  small,  dense,  axillary  ckisters 
not  as  long  as  the  leaves.  Calvx  :  four  to  five-toothed.  Corolla  :  white  or 
reddish;  campanulate ;  four  to  five-lohed.  Stamens:  included.  Berries: 
bluish  red ;  nearly  globose  and  remaining  on  the  branches  after  the  leaves 
have  fallen. 

After  the  glories  of  the  summer  and  the  early  autumn  have 
departed,  with  the  humility  of  natural  beauty  the  warm,  richly- 
coloured   berries   of    this    shrub    illumine    the    landscape.     It 


PLATE  CXLII.     SNOWBERRY.     Syiiiphoruarpos  Syinpii.u  :.  ,' . p 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,    BY  FREDERICK  A.   STOKES  COMPANY. 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  IN  DRY  SOIL.  263 

seems  as  though  their  wealth  of  loveliness  had  been  held  in  re- 
serve for  a  time  when  other  things  should  have  faded,  and  as  a 
compensation  for  their  rather  insignificant  showing  of  flowers 
in  the  spring.  They  cling  to  the  bushes  throughout  the  winter, 
and  are  truly  snowberries,  for  of  the  earth's  soft,  white  cloak 
they  have  no  dread. 

In  North  Carolina  the  shrub  is  commonly  seen,  where  it  is 
much  planted  about  old  farmhouses.  Bordering  many  of  the 
drives  of  the  Biltmore  estate  it  is  abundantly  growing.  The 
creeping  roots  of  the  shrub  have  a  curious  way  of  entangling 
themselves  with  other  things,  and  not  exactly  respecting  the 
laws  of  independence.  On  this  account  it  has  in  some  places 
been  rather  a  nuisance  on  plantations,  as  is  uniquely  suggested 
to  the  mind  by  its  name  of  "  Devil's  shoe  strings."  Not  infre- 
quently the  snowberry  gleams  from  among  rocks  and  by  the 
banks  of  streams. 

5ASSAFRAS.     AGUE  TREE.     {Plate  CXLIII.) 

Sassafras  Sassafras. 


FAMILY 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE 

TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Laurel. 

Head.,  narrow.,  Jlat. 

I  5-50-90 /£■£•;. 

Eastern  Mass.  soiith- 
ivard  and  -a<csi'!vard. 

April,  J/ay. 
Fruit:  A  ug.-Oct. 

Bark:  dark,  reddish  brown  ;  irregularly  broken,  and  furrowed.  Branchlets  : 
yellowish  grey  when  young,  peeling  readily ;  aromatic;  mucilaginous.  Leaves: 
>imple;  alternate;  peiioled  ;  entire  or  two  to  five-lobed  ;  ovate  or  obovate; 
when  two-lobed  usually  mitten-shaped;  the  apex  of  the  leaves  and  lobes 
bluntly  pointed  or  slightly  rounded  ;  taper-pointed  at  the  base.  Sinuses  :  when 
the  lobes  are  ]>resent,  rounded.  Dark  green ;  shiny,  becoming  soon  glabrous 
and  often  sprinkled  with  pellucid  dots.  Flowers  :  dioecious  ;  greenish  yellow; 
growing  in  umbel-like  clusters  and  appearing  with  the  leaves.  Calyx:  six- 
lobed.  Stamens:  nine.  Fruit:  blue;  growing  on  red  pedicels;  oval;  one- 
seeded  ;  pungent. 

It  is  always  pleasant  to  come  upon  the  sassafras,  either  when 
it  grows  in  rich  woods  or  in  the  dry,  well-drained  soil  of  the 
roadsides.  In  the  spring  especially,  its  drooping  clusters  of 
flowers  attract  us,  as  they  shine  pure  and  white  among  its 
quaint  and  young,  flushed  leaves.  The  large  buds  and  the  bark 
of  the  crisp,  green  shoots  are  also  enticing  ;  for  they  are  gifted 


PLATE  CXLlll.     SASSAFRAS.     Sassafras  sassafras. 

(264) 


TREES  GROWING  IN  DRY  SOIL.  265 

with  a  pleasant  fragrance  and  spicy  taste.  About  the  foliage 
there  is  a  wholesome,  clean  look,  and  in  the  autumn  it  turns  to 
a  delicate  yellow  and  reddish  hue.  The  brilliant  fruit  also  adds 
greatly  to  its  charm,  but  this  is  of  short  duration.  The  birds 
greedily  devour  it,  as  soon  as  its  colour  flashes  upon  their 
watchful   eyes. 

The  wood  of  the  sassafras  is  brittle,  but  it  is  also  durable. 
From  the  bark  of  its  roots  a  powerful,  aromatic  oil  is  extracted 
which  is  largely  used  as  a  stimulant.  It  has  now,  however, 
lost  the  flavour  it  formerly  had  in  the  treatment  of  rheumatism, 
A'.though  the  tree  is  reported  to  grow  to  the  height  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  feet,  it  is  rather  small  at  the  north 
and  often  becomes  a  shrub.  Even  in  winter  the  bright,  lus- 
trous green  is  not  driven  from  its  twigs,  and  it  is  a  cheery,  en- 
couraging sight. 

WILD  BLACK  CHERRY.     RUM  CHERRY.     CABINET 

CHERRY.     {Plate  CXLIV) 

Pruniis  serd/i'na. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Plum.      Head,  narrow:   branches,     s°-qo/eei.     Southern  Ontario  to  May,  June. 

horizontal.  Fta.  and  westward.     Fruit:  July-SeJ>t. 

Bark  :  reddish  brown  or  blackish  ;  rough  and  broken  into  plates  ;  becoming 
smoother  towards  the  top  of  the  tree.  Branchlets :  rich,  reddish  brown,  and 
marked  with  tiny  orange-coloured  dots;  aromatic;  bitter.  Leaves:  simple; 
alternate  ;  oblong  or  oval-lanceolate  ;  taper-jjointed  at  the  apex  and  pointed  or 
rounded  at  the  base ;  finely  serrate,  with  small,  incurved  teeth ;  at  maturity 
glabrous;  firm;  glossy;  the  light  coloured  midrib  very  distinct.  Flcnoers  : 
white  ;  growing  on  pedicels  in  long,  slender  racemes  which  terminate  leafy 
shoots.  Calyx :  bell-shaped ;  five-lobed.  Corolla  :  of  five  small  petals. 
Stiime7is  :  numerous.  Pistil  :  one.  Frtdt :  almost  black  ;  a  small,  round 
drupe  ;  vinous,  although  not  disagreeable  to  the  taste. 

Such  a  pretty  point  is  brought  to  mind  by  the  illustration  of 
the  black  cherry.  In  early  spring  when  the  bloom  unfolds,  it 
is  so  soft  and  light  that  its  stem  holds  it  uprightly  in  the  sur- 
rounding atmosphere  ;  but  as  it  fades  away  and  the  rich,  heavy 
fruit  matures,  the  slender  stalk  is  not  equal  to  its  weight.  So  it 
supplely  bends  and  the  clusters  are  seen  drooping  all   through 


Enla  rged  flower. 

PLATE  CXLIV.    WILD  BLACK  CHERRY.     Prunus  serotina. 

(266) 


PLATE  CXLV.     APPLE.     Mn/iis  Ma/us. 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,    BY  FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY 
PRINTED  (N  AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  IN  DRY  SOIL. 


267 


'^•C!^*- 


the  bright  foliage   of   the  tree.     Unfortunately  it  is  not  very 
discriminating  about  its  soil,  but  along  the  roadsides  and  in  the 
woods  and  glades  the  tree  is  a  familiar  character.     Especially 
towards    the    northern    limit   of   its 
range  it  forms  a  quantity  of  shrubby 
growth  by  fences.     Little  boys  and 
wayfarers  enjoy  eating  the  fruit,  and 
in  many   farmhouses    there    is    re- 
served for  especial  occasions,  in  the 
corner  of  some  old  cupboard,  a  bot- 
tle of  cherry  bounce. 

As  a  timber  tree  it  is  one  of  the 
most  valuable  of  the  x\merican  for- 
est, but  it  is  now  becoming  scarce. 
It  was  at  one  time  a  most  promi- 
nent feature  of  the  woodlands  on 
the  slopes  of  the  Alleghany  moun- 
tains. In  texture  its  wood  is  firm 
and  durable  with  a  satin-like  sur- 
face which  receives  a  high  polish.  In  cabinet  work  it  is  most 
conspicuous.  When  first  worked  the  wood  is  quite  light,  but 
it  becomes  darker  with  time  and  exposure.  There  is  none 
that  is  better  coloured.  From  the  aromatic  bark  which  con- 
tains a  bitter  element  a  tonic  is  prepared,  and  it  is  reported  to 
possess  considerable  efficacy  in  the  curing  of  pulmonary  com- 
plaints. From  the  vivid  green  inner  layer  the  bark  peels 
readily.  In  the  autumn  the  foliage  turns  to  a  bright,  cheery 
yellow. 


Pritnus  serdiina. 


FAMILY 
Apple. 


APPLE.     {Plate  CXL  F.) 

Malus  Malus. 


SHAPE 

Roil  nd-topped,  compnct. 


HEIGHT 
1 5-35  Z'?^^- 


RANGE 
Introduced. 


TIME  OF  BLOOM 
April,  May. 


Bark:  greyish.  Leaves:  simple;  alternate;  with  woolly  petioles;  oval  or 
ovate;  bluntly  pointed  or  rounded  at  the  apex  and  rounded  or  cordate  at  the 
base;  serrate,  occasionally   almost  entire;  bright    green  and    nearly   glabrous 


i68  TREES  (a<0\VlNG  IN  DRV  SOIL. 

above,  covered  with  a  woolly  clown  underneath.  Mowers  :  white,  tinted  with 
pink  and  growing  in  an  umbel.  Calyx  :  covered  with  tomentum  when  young. 
Fruit :  large;  globose;  depressed  at  the  apex  and  base. 

"  Come,  let  us  plant  the  apjjle-tree 
Cleave  the  tough  greensward  with  the  spade; 
Wide  let  its  hollow  bed  be  made; 
There  gently  lay  the  roots,  and  there 
Sift  the  dark  mould  with  kindly  care, 

And  press  it  o'er  them  tenderly, 
As,  round  the  sleeping  infant's  feet, 
We  softly  fold  the  cradle-sheet; 

So  plant  we  the  apple-tree." 

— Bryant, 

When  scattered  over  the  country  and  in  among  the  other  trees 
there  are  those  that  appear  like  rosy-tinted  snowballs,  it  is  the 
time  of  the  apple  trees'  blooming.  From  the  swelling  of  their 
buds  to  the  advent  of  the  full-grown  petals  which  quiver  against 
the  intense  blue  of  the  sky  and  exhale  their  faint  perfume,  the 
earth  seems  suddenly  to  have  lost  its  wits  in  the  excess  of 
extravagance.  But  such  a  holiday  mood  could  hardly  be  of 
long  duration.  There  is  work  to  be  done,  and  fruit  must  grow 
and  ripen.  So  the  blossom  storm  carries  away  the  dainty  flecks 
of  white,  and  sombreness  comes  back  again. 

It  is  then  the  turn  of  the  foliage  to  expand,  to  become  dense 
and  to  provide  shelter  for  the  protection  of  the  forming  fruit. 

Although  a  cultivated  tree,  and  one  that  has  been  introduced 
from  Europe  and  western  Asia,  it  lingers  so  often  by  the  lanes 
and  waysides  of  this  country  and  its  boughs  of  fruit  so  tempt- 
ingly appeal  to  the  wayfarer  that  it  has  here  been  accorded  a 
place.  To  study  the  trees  and  forget  the  common  apple  would 
be  sad  indeed. 


PLAT:: 


\  JUNE-BERRV.      ./,,/, 


'     (  'iU!iIi/t//s/s 


I  CHOKE-CHERRY.     J'naius  I  irginiana. 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,    BV   FREDERICK  *.  STOKES  COMPANT 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  IN  DRY  SOIL. 


269 


JUNE-BERRY.     SERVICE-BERRY.     MAY=CHERRY. 

{Plate  CXL  VI.) 


Ameldnchier  Canddetisis. 


FAMILY  SHAPE 

Apple.       Heady  rouiui-toppdi : 
branches,  spreading. 


HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

\o-so_feet,  or      New  Foiindland  west-        Marck-Alay. 
higher.  ward,  southward  to    Fruit:  June,  July. 

Fla.  and  Louisiana, 

Bark:  purplish  brown;  ridged.  Bud-scales  and  bracts:  sticky.  Leaves: 
simple;  alternate;  slender  petioled ;  ovate,  with  at  times,  bristle-pointed  apex 
and  rounded  or  slightly  cordate  base  ;  finely  serrate;  dark  green  and  dull 
above,  paler  below  and  becoming  glabrous  at  maturity ;  thick.  Flowers  : 
white;  large;  growing  in  terminal,  loose  racemes  and  appearing  before  the 
leaves.  Calyx  :  five-cleft.  Corolla  :  of  five  almost  linear  petals  notched  at  the 
apex.  .S'Aj'wVwj- ;  numerous.  Pistils:  numerous.  Fruit:  a  small  red  or  pur- 
plish pome  ;  sweet;  edible. 

Even  to  those, — and  there  are  perhaps  many, — that  walk 
through  the  woods  and  pastures  without  ever  hearing  the  music 
passing  through  the  tree-tops  and  quivering  in  the  insects' 
wings,  and  whose  eyes  are  never  caught  by  the  subtle  unfold- 
ings  of  spring,  the  white  bloom  of  the  shad-bush,  gleaming 
through  the  almost  bare  branches  of  other  trees,  must  be  an 
event  in  the  year.  There  is  no  passing  it  by  ;  it  is  one  of  the 
spirits  of  nature  that  the  dullest  eye  must  see  and  admire. 
Even  the  pink  of  its  buds  is  an  exquisite 
tint.  The  fleecy  white  petals  seem  to  wave 
and  beckon  in  the  breezes  as  though  to 
attract  the  attention,  and  do  so  at  a  season 
of  the  year  when  there  is  little  foliage  to 
hide  them  from  view.  It  is  then  that  the 
knowing  ones  sigh  as  with  relief  and  feel 
grateful  that  the  spring  is  indeed  on  its 
way.  The  winter  has  passed  ;  the  shad 
are  running  in  the  waters.  All  along  the 
shrub  is  a  leader  of  the  seasons.  As 
early  as  June  its  fruit  becomes  crimson, 
and  at  the  approach  of  autumn  the  leaves  turn  bright  yellow. 

The  Indians  and  birds  seem  to  vie  with  each  other  in  their 
appreciation  of  the  berries.  Early  they  seek  them.  The 
birds  to  enjoy  a  feast  and  afterwards  to  scatter  the  seeds,  and 


.A  vieldnchier  Canadensis. 


270 


TRJiES  GRUVViNG  IN  DRY  SOIL. 


the  Indians  to  manipulate  them  into  a  sort  of  cake  which  they 
greatly  relish  and  find  wholesome.  After  the  berries  are 
crushed,  they  place  them  in  the  sunshine  where  they  harden 
into  a  paste.  This  they  prudently  put  by  for  use  during  the 
winter  months.  Along  the  Atlantic  coast  and  through  the 
Gulf  states  Amelanchier  Botrgapium,  the  shad-bush,  a  related 
species,  with  broader,  shorter  petals,  is  only  known  as  a  shrub. 
The  wood  of  Amelanchier  Canadensis  is  fine  and  capable  of  re- 
ceiving a  high  polish. 

A.  alnifdlia,  northwestern  June-berry,  occurs  throughout  the 
northwest  as  a  shrub  from  three  to  eight  feet  high,  or  as  a  tree 
as  tall  as  forty  feet.  Formerly  it  was  regarded  as  a  variety  of 
the  preceding  species.  Its  shorter  petals  and  more  rounded 
fruit  are  marks  by  which  it  may  be  known.  There  are,  in  fact, 
several  wild  species  of  the  genus  whose  differences  are  not 
very  great.     As  a  genus  they  are  readily  known. 


PEACH .     {Plate  CXL  VII.) 
Amygdalus  Persica. 


FAMILY 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE 

TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Plum. 

Scraggly. 

About  10/eet. 

New  York  to  North 
Carolina, 

Aprils  May. 

Bark',  purplish  brown;  smooth;  bitter.  Leaves;  simple;  alternate  ;  grow- 
ing in  clusters  along  the  stem  and  terminating  the  branches  ;  lanceolate  ;  finely 
serrate;  bright  green  above  and  glabrous;  thick;  bitter  and  containing 
prussic  acid.  Flowers  ;  purplish  pink;  growing  singly  from  scaly  buds  along 
the  branches  and  appearing  before  tiie  leaves  ;  almost  sessile.  Calyx:  tubu- 
lar ;  bell-shaped,  with  five  spreading  lobes.  Corolla:  of  five  petals.  Stamens: 
numerous  on  the  throat  of  the  calyx.  Pistil :  ow&.  Fniit :  <^oh\x\2.x  ;  velvety 
and  containing  a  deeply-wrinkled  stone  ;  the  kernel  flavoured  with  prussic  acid. 

Although  in  a  truly  wild  state  this  lovely 
flowering  tree  is  unknown,  it  sometimes  strays 
from  the  gardens  to  the  waysides.  Here 
amid  the  medley  of  tender  greens  that  stand 
out  from  a  background  of  brown  and  purple 
and  are  tipped  with  golden,  the  brilliant 
masses  of  blossoms  give  a  life  and  inspi- 
ration to  the  landscape  that  is  tj^pical   of  the 


A  ttt^gdalus  Pirsica . 


F-LHI    L      UA^VM,  PtACH. 


'.^  /V;-./r, 


COPVRrCHT,    1900,    BV  FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANV. 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  IN  DRY  SOIL.  271 

springtime.  Spring  is,  in  fact,  as  the  poets  never  grow  tired  of 
telling  us,  the  time  to  enjoy  the  fullness  of  life  in  the  country. 
Bowers  of  colour  are  everywhere,  and  what  has  been  grey  and 
apparently  dead  during  the  winter  is  budding.  An  old  slanting 
roof  within  a  small  enclosure  is  transformed  by  the  peaches' 
spray  into  a  garden  that  rivals  those  of  Japan. 

SILVER-LEAF  POPLAR.     WHITE  POPLAR.     ABELE. 

{Plate  CXLVIII.) 
Popiilus  dlba. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Wiiloiv^       Tall,  round-topped.      -^o-ioojeet.      Introduced  Nezu  Bruns-         March-May. 

■wick  to  Virginia. 

Bark:  light  grey  ;  furrowed  at  the  base  and  becoming  smoother  towards  the 
to)).  Buds:  not  glutinous.  Leaves:  simple;  alternate;  with  rounded  and 
downy  petioles  ;  rounded-ovate  ;  cordate  at  the  base,  with  from  three  to  fivj 
jjointed  Iol:)es  ;  finely  serrate ;  dark  green  and  smooth  above,  white  and  cot- 
tony underneath.  The  young  leaves  covered  with  down  on  both  surfaces. 
Slaniinate  flowers  :  growing  in  long,  drooping  catkins. 

The  roadsides  that  have  about  them  the  greatest  charm  are 
those  that  are  shady,  and  in  summer  time,  when  the  sun  is 
high,  they  are  sought  with  gratitude  by  both  man  and  beast. 
Often  along  their  borders  an  introduced  tree  will  be  mingled 
with  those  that  are  natives  ;  sometimes  this  is  so  even  in  remote 
places,  and  far  away  from  any  habitation.  This  has  been  noticed 
about  Populus  alba.  How  has  it  come  there  is  then  wondered. 
To  follow,  however,  in  imagination  one  of  its  fine,  tufted  seeds 
as  it  is  carried  along  by  a  playful  breeze,  is  to  find  that  al- 
though it  may  rest  awhile  in  some  nook  to-day,  to-morrow  it 
will  be  taken  up  again,  and  perhaps  again  later,  and  may  not 
reach  its  final  destination  until  a  considerable  distance  has 
been  travelled.  Much  of  the  growth  of  this  poplar  that  we 
ordinarily  see,  however,  is  from  the  innumerable  suckers  that 
spring  up  from  the  bases  of  the  old  trees,  and  which  also  mar 
the  beauty  of  many  that  are  younger. 

East  of  the  Alleghanies  the  tree  is  very  common.  It  grows, 
as  well  as  in  dry  soil,  by  the  side  of  streams  and  in  moist 
woods. 


Pistillate  branch. 


PLATE  CXLVIII.     SILVER-LEAF  POPLAR.     Popiilus  alba. 
(272) 


TREES  GROWING  IN  DRY  SOIL. 


=  73 


As  early  as  March  the  shining  brown  scales  which  cover  its 
flower-buds  begin  to  respond  to  the  tempered  atmosphere. 
Then  they  split  open  and  are  among  the  first  to  send  into  the 
world  their  grey  and  rosy-tinted  offsprings. 


LOMBARDY  POPLAR.     {Plate  CXLIX.) 
Popiilus  dilatata. 


FAMILY 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE 

TIME  OF  BLOOM 

W  'iiio-M. 

I'ltfering:    branches, 
perpendicular. 

30-60  yivi'. 

Planted. 

W/;-/7,  Mar. 

Bark:  roughish.  Branches:  growing  closely  together.  Buds  :  possessing 
a  glutinous  substance,  like  balsam.  Leaves  :  simple;  alternate;  with  petioles 
which  are  flattened  sidewise;  very  broadly  oval  ;  pointed  at  the  apex  and  at 
the  base  ;  finely  serrate ;  smooth.     Flmvcrs  :  dioecious;  growing  in  catkins. 

As  in  the  human  family,  we  find  that  every  tree  has  its  own 
particular  appearance, — one  to  which  it  remains  true  both 
in  sunshine  and  in  shade.  Even  although  it  loses  its  leaves 
in    winter  time,    its  outline    is  then    quite    as   well  j. 

known  to  tree   lovers  as    when  it    is  fully  clothed 
with    verdure.     In  its    manner    of   growth  there   is 
hardly    any    tree    that    is    more    distinct    than    the 
Lombardy   poplar,  and  it  is  perhaps  for  this  reason 
that  it  is  so  generally  known.     Constantly  it  is  being 
referred    to  as  though  it  were  the    only  species  of 
poplar  in  existence.     About  one  hundred  years  ago 
it  was  imported  from  Italy  and  soon  began  to  be 
much  planted  in  this  country.     Through  cultivation 
it  has  spread  widely  and  also  by  the  means   it  em- 
ploys of  sending  up  shoots  froin  its  buried   parts.  popu'iZs 
At  present  it  is  not  nearly  so  much  seen  as  formerly  ;        diutata. 
for  insects  have  bored  into  its  trunk  and  preyed  greatly  upon 
its  foliage.     In  parts  of  New  Jersey,  where  it  was  once  almost 
as  common  as  the  indigenous  trees,  it  is  now  rarely  seen. 

Not  by  all  is  the  symmetrical,  uncompromising  aspect  of  the 
tree  admired,  nor  does  its  stiff  outline  blend  with  every  variety 
of    landscape;   but    it    is    beloved    by   many  that   have    witli    it 


Pistillate  branch. 

PLATE  CXLIX.     LOMBARDY  POPLAR.     Populus  dilatata. 
(274) 


PLA, 


■Hilt   B I K  C  H .     Jit  til /,  I  /',  /'// iijL  Uia. 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,    BY  FREDERICK  A.   STOKES  COMPANY 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  IN  DRY  SOIL. 


27s 


pleasant  associations  and  again  because  it  is  a  tree  at  once 
recognised.  To  know  a  tree  does  much  in  fact  towards  awak- 
ening the  affections. 


AMERICAN  WHITE  BIRCH.     OLD-FIELD  BIRCH. 

QREY  BIRCH.     {Plate  CL.) 

Bitula  populifblia. 


FAMILY 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE 

TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Birch. 

Pyramidal;   branches., 
often  pendulous. 

il-^ofeet. 

Ne-M  Brunswick  to 

Ontario.^  southward 

to  Delaware. 

May. 

Bark  of  trunk :  chalky  white;  smooth;  not  peeling  readily.  Yoicng 
branches:  rich,  reddish  brown,  and  spotted  with  wart-like  dots.  Buds:  ses- 
sile; scaly.  Leaves  :  simple;  alternate;  with  long,  slender  petioles  ;  some- 
times in  pairs  ;  almost  triangular  ;  pointed  at  the  apex,  and  squared,  roundej 
or  pointed  at  the  base  ;  unevenly  serrate  ;  often  becoming  entire  at  the  base  ; 
liright  green,  lustrous  and  glabrous  above,  lighter  underneath  and  almost 
glabrous  at  maturity.  Flowers  :  yellowish  green  ;  growing  in  scaly  catkins. 
.St.iminate  ones  :  from  two  to  four  inches  long,  and  having  three  liny  flowers 
under  each  bract.  Stamens  :  four  ;  short.  Pistillate  catkins  :  with  two  to 
tiiree    blossoms  under   each  bract.     Ovaries  :  naked.     Fruit:  broadly  winged. 

The  white  birch  is  one  of  the  restless,  short-lived  spirits  of 
t'le  woodlands.  It  is  delicate  and  beautiful  with  leaves  almost 
as  tremulous  as  those  of  the  aspen.  Through 
it,  a  stream  of  tenderness  seems  to  flow,  for  >^ . 
ils  trunk  too  is  flexible,  and  often  during  the  'i\l^ 
winter  bends  under  the  load  of  ice  it  has  to 
uphold.  Its  powers  of  endurance  are  greatly  'j?: 
in  contrast  to  those  of  many  of  the  trees,  the 
oaks  especially. 

Of  the  birches  of  Eastern  North  America  it 
is  the  smallest  and  least  widely  distributed. 
On  lands  that  have  been  devoured  by  fire  or 
those  that  have  been  abandoned  by  farmers, 
it  springs  up  quickly.  In  southern  New  England  it  is  fre- 
quently found  growing  on  the  margins  of  swamps.  Hardly  a 
tree  more  graceful  or  sylph-like  is    known  in  cultivation,  when 


Bitula  populi/blia. 


276 


TREES  GROWING  IN  DRY  SOIL. 


its  white  bark  and  exquisitely-shaped  and  fluttering  leaves 
show  to  great  advantage. 

Commercially  it  is  not  of  any  very  great 
value.  Its  soft,  weak  wood  is  too  perishable. 
Spools  and  barrel-hoops  are  made  from  it, 
and  upon  the  hearth  it  finds  a  welcome 
place. 

Betula  pendil/a,  weeping  birch,  is  a  Euro- 
pean species,  which  is  extensively  planted  in 
this  country.  Its  drooping  branches  and 
delicate,  soft  leaves  are  extremely  attrac- 
tive. 


B^tula  pendula. 


HOP=HORNBEAM.     IRON=WOOD. 

{Plate  CLI.) 
Ostrya  Virgvizdna. 


LEVERWOOD. 


FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Birck.      Head^  round;    branches^     ■i.a-to/eet.     From  the  norths  sou'h-         April,  May. 

drooping  at  the  ends.  •ward  and  ivest-ward.    Fruit:  July,  Sept. 

Bark:  brownish;  furrowed  vertically,  and  scaly.  Brajic/iiets :  ■pwpW'^h 
brown,  and  dotted  with  grey;  lustrous.  Leaves;  simple;  alternate;  with 
short,  rough  petioles  ;  oblong-lanceolate  ;  taper-pointed  at  the  apex  and 
rounded  at  the  base  ;  often  unequal ;  doubly  and  sharply  serrate;  dark,  yellow- 
green  above  ;  almost  smooth  ;  lighter  coloured  below  and  tufted  in  tlie  axils  of 
the  straight  veins.  Flowers  :  growing  in  long  catkins  ;  the  staminate  ones 
about  two  inches  long,  with  scales  fringed  on  the  margins.  Pistillate  catkins: 
shorter.  Fruit:  green;  growing  in  long,  drooping,  hop-like  strobiles,  with 
entire,  overlapping  scales,  or  sacs  which  arc  bristly  at  their  bases.  Nitts  : 
flattened. 

Those  that   see  this  tree  usually  stop  awhi.le   and    carefully 

regard  its  birch-like  leaves  and  its  swinging  clusters  of  yellow 

tinted   fruit.     Both    are    very   beautiful,    but    hardly   more   so 

than  are   its  flower  clusters  when   they  begin  to  lengthen    in 

early  spring.     It    is  said    that  the    furrows  on  the   bark  of  this 

tree  are  finer  than  those  of  any  other  with  a  rough    bark,  and 

that,  as  it  grows  older,  this  feature  becomes  more  pronounced. 

It   contains    considerable    tannin.     The    tree    is    very  shapely 

and  generally  small.     It    is    not  common.     For  this  reason  its 

wood  which  is  hard  and  strong  and  receives  a  high   polish  has 


Floivering  branch.  Branch  in  fruit 


Pistillate  flower. 

PLATE  CLI.     HOP-HORNBEAM.     Ostrya   Virgitiiana. 
(277) 


Nut  and  cnvolucre. 


278 


TREES  GROWING  IN  DRY  SOIL. 


not  the  value  to  which  it  would  be  entitled  if  it  could  be  pro- 
cured in  larger  quantities. 

All  living  in  and  about  New  York  have  an  opportunity  to 
study  the  tree  as  it  has  been  most  abundantly  planted  in 
Central  Park. 


POST  OAK.     IRON  OAK.      BOX  WHITE  OAK.      ROUND- 
LEAVED  WHITE  OAK.     {Plate  CLII.) 

Quirctis  minor. 


FAMILY 
Beech. 


SHAPE 
Head,  round,  dense; 
branches,  spreading. 


HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

10-100  feet.       Mass.  southzuard  and  May,  June. 

■westward  to  Indian  Fruit:  Sept.,  Oct. 
Territory  and  Texas. 

Bark  :  rather  dark  grey;  rough  but  slightly  so  in  comparison  to  other  oaks, 
excepting  the  white  oak.  Leaves:  simple;  alternate;  long-obovate;  with 
rounded  or  wedge-shaped  base,  and  having  from  three  to  seven  variously 
shaped  lobes,  frequently  spreading  out  at  almost  right  angles  from  the  midrib. 
At  the  apex  they  are  lo'bed,  or  hollowed  and  become  narrow  or  remain  square 
at  the  base;  dark  green  and  shiny  above  with  fine  hairs,  lighter  coloured  and 
downy  underneath;  thick;  coarse.  Floivers  :  appearing  l:)efore  the  leaves  are 
partly  grown.  Slaminate  catkins:  three  or  four  inches  long.  Pistillate  ones  : 
sessile.  Acorns :  two  or  three  growing  on  a  short  stem,  or  solitary,  and 
almost  sessile.  Cup:  deeply  saucer-shaped,  with  small,  lanceolate  scales  often 
fringed  at  the  margin.  Nut:  small;  dark  brOwn,  delicately  striped  and 
lustrous;  oval;  very  sweet. 

What  is  the  object,  we  sometimes 
wonder,  to  which  trees  direct  their 
growth,  and  why  are  some  of  them 
irp- content  to  be  low  while  others  are  lofty, 
and  why  do  many  remain  weak  when 
others  grow  strong  ?  It  is  not  difficult 
to  trace  the  aspirations  of  the  oaks  ; 
they  are  visibly  for  power  and  en- 
durance. Quercus  minor  displays  it,  in 
its  compact,  rough  manner  of  growth, 
which  is  so  noticeable  that  the  tree 
could  hardly  be  mistaken  for  a  member 
of  any  other  genus.  Its  dark  foliage 
too  is  ruggedly  and  distinctively  cut. 
Qu4rcus  minor.  Throughout  the  south  whcrc  the  tree 


Staviinate  branch. 

PLATE  CLll.     POST    OAK.     Quercus  minor. 
(279) 


28o  TREES  GROWING  IN  DRY  SOIL. 

is  well  known  its  wood  is  especially  valued.  For  railroad  ties, 
staves,  cooperage,  ship-building  and  many  purposes  it  is  used. 
In  quality  it  is  similar  to  that  of  the  white  oak,  page  i88,  and  in 
fact  the  trees  were  for  a  long  time  confused  one  with  the  other. 
Towards  the  western  limit  of  its  range  it  grows  abundantly 
with  Black-jack,  Quercus  Mary/andica,  and  forms  a  belt  which 
was  familiarly  known  to  early  settlers  of  that  part  of  the  coun- 
try as  "  Cross  Timbers."  In  New  England  the  post  oak  often 
becomes  a  shrub,  when  its  branches  are  low  and  contorted. 

BLACK=JACK.     BARREN  OAK.     {Plate  CL/II.) 
Quercus  MixryhiJidica. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

lieeck.      Head^  irregular;  branches,     i,--i's-<^o  feet.    Long  Isla}id  south-         May,  June. 

stout,  contorted.  ward  and  west-      l-'ruit:  Oct.,  Nox\ 

ward. 

Bark:  blackish;  rough;  ridged  and  separating  into  close  scales.  Leaves: 
simple;  alternate;  broadly  obovate;  rounded  or  slightly  cordate  at  the  base, 
widening  above  the  middle  of  the  leaf  and  forming  three  or  tive  very  short, 
slight  lobes;  rounded  at  the  ai)ex  or  slightly  pointed;  bristle-tipi:ed.  Sinuses  : 
shallow;  dark  green  and  glossy  above  with  fine  star-like  hairs,  covered  v\'ith 
a  rusty  pubescence  underneath  when  young,  at  maturity  glabrous.  A'il's  :  dis- 
tinct and  branching  conspicuously  above  the  middle.  Sta7iiiiiate  catkins :  two 
to  four  inches  long;  ]}ubescent.  Pistillate  o)ies  :  growing  on  short  peduncles 
and  covered  witli  a  white  wool.  Acorns:  small;  ovoid;  sessile  or  nearly  so. 
Cup:  deep;  top-shaped;  and  covered  with  coarse,  com]:)ressed  scales; 
pubescent.     Ntit :  dark  brown;  edible;  sweet. 

There  is  something  very  interesting  about  Black-jack.  Per- 
haps it  is  its  common  name  which  fixes  it  so  firmly  in  the 
memory  and  makes  the  tree  an  old  friend  after  it  has  once  been 
seen.  Much  character  is  displayed  about  its  unusually  shaped 
leaves,  and  although  they  have  somewhat  departed  from  the 
oi-thodox  conception  of  beauty,  they  have  a  firm,  broad  out- 
line of  their  own.  When  they  unfold  in  the  spring  they  are 
bright  pink  on  the  upper  side,  a  feature  curious  to  recall  when 
they  have  attained  their  large  size  and  dark,  lustrous  greenness 
of  maturity.  Black-jack  has  a  decided  preference  for  dry, 
sterile  soil.  The  wood  it  bears  is  dark  brown  and  strong,  but 
it  checks  badly  in  drying.  It  is  therefore  mostly  used  for  fuel 
and  for  making  charcoal, 


Staminate  branch. 


PLATE  CLIII.       BLACK-JACK.     (2icercus  Marylandica. 
(281) 


282  TREES  GROWING  IN  DRY  SOIL. 

ROCK  CHESTNUT  OAK.     SWAMP  CHESTNUT  OAK. 
CHESTNUT  OAK.     {Plate  CLIV.) 

Quire  lis  Prhiiis. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Beech.      Head,  broad.,  irregular.     40-80-100 /i?^/.      Maitie southiuard  May.,  June. 

to  Del.,  Ky.  Fruit:  Oct.,  Nov. 
Tenn.  and  Ala. 

Bark:  blackish  or  reddish  brown;  ridged  and  separating  into  close  scales. 
Leaves :  simple;  alternate;  broadly-obovate  or  oval,  with  bluntly  pointed  apex 
and  rounded  or  slightly  pointed  base;  evenly  and  crenately  toothed,  the  teeth 
decreasing  in  size  as  they  reach  the  apex;  dark  green  and  glabrous  above, 
paler  and  downy  underneath.  Acorns :  growing  in  pairs  or  solitary  on  a  short 
peduncle.  Ctip :  rounded;  thick  and  covered  with  minute,  thin  scales.  Nut: 
brown  at  maturity;  long-ovate  or  ovoid;  edible;  slightly  sweet. 

That  the  oaks  are  silent  expressions  of  strength  has  been 
told  in  the  folk-lore  and  poetry  of  every  nation  whose  soil  they 
inhabit  ;  but  it  was  the  Autocrat  of  the  Breakfast  Table  who 
explained  that  while  "  others  shirk  the  work  of  resisting 
gravity,  the  oak  defies  it.  It  chooses  the  horizontal  direction 
for  its  limbs  so  that  their  whole  weight  may  tell, — and  then 
stretches  them  out  fifty  or  sixty  feet,  so  that  the  strain  may  be 
mighty  enough  to  be  worth  resisting.  At  90°  the  oak  stops 
short ;  to  slant  upward  another  degree  would  mark  infirmity 
of  purpose  ;  to  bend  downward,  weakness  of  organization." 

Of  the  latter  tendency  one  would  never  suspect  the  rock 
chestnut  oak,  and  few  of  its  genus  are  constructed  to  display 
more  vigour.  It  also  lives  to  a  venerable  age  and  seems  like 
the  patriarch  of  the  generation  to  the  more  perishable  trees, 
the  flowers  and  grasses  that  grow  under  its  shade.  The  tree  is 
known  as  an  Appalachian  one  and  makes,  on  the  dry  hillsides 
of  Carolina  and  Tennessee,  its  best  growth.  Although  its 
wood  is  not  nearly  so  valuable  as  that  of  the  white  oaks,  it 
has  still  a  field  of  usefulness  in  the  making  of  railroad  ties 
and  fences.  From  its  bark  an  unusually  large  quantity  of 
tannin  is  extracted.  The  tree  was  one  of  the  first  of  the 
American  oaks  to  be  known  in  Europe, 


PLATE  CLIV.     ROCK  CHESTNUT  OAK.      Oucrciis  Prinus. 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,    BV  FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY. 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  IN  DRY  SOIL  283 

CHESTNUT  OAK.     YELLOW  OAK.    {Plate  CLV.) 

Quercus  acuminata. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Beech.       Tall,  straight :   head,     ^o-Zo-ito  feet.       Vermont  to  northern  May.,  June. 

narrow.  Ala.  and  westward.     Fruit:  Oct.,  Nov 

Bark:  light  grey;  broken  into  thin  flakes.  Branchlets :  marked  with  pale 
lenticels.  Leaves:  five  to  seven  inches  long  ;  simple;  alternate;  petioled;  at 
most  an  inch  long;  lanceolate,  or  obovate  with  taper-pointed  apex  and  pointed, 
wedged-shaped  or  blunt  base;  sharply  and  evenly  serrate.  Sinuses  :  rounded. 
The  veins  extending  from  the  midrib  to  the  summit  of  the  teeth.  Yellow- 
green  and  glabrous  above,  silvery  and  slightly  downy  underneath.  StiUninate 
Jiowers  :  growing  in  catkins  from  three  to  four  inches  long.  Pistillate  o?ies :  in 
short,  sessile  spikes.  /i<.w;/i- :  small;  sessile.  O// .•  round;  broad;  thin;  the 
scales  closely  compressed.  A'ltt :  light  brown;  ovate;  about  one-third  covered 
by  the  cup;  edible;  sweet. 

Those  that  have  paid  little  or  no  attention  to  the  trees,  ex- 
cepting perhaps  to  regard  them  as  affording  a  gracious  and 
wholesome  shade,  are  invariably  surprised  when  their  interest 
in  them  is  quickened  to  see  how  exquisite  are  many  of  the 
blossoms  with  which  they  are  hung  in  the  spring.  Then  it  is  a 
revelation  that  the  long  yellow  clusters,  looking  like  bits  of 
string,  which  dangle  from  this  great  oak  are  in  reality  its  stami- 
nate  flowers.  In  this  way  many  of  them  grow  snugly  together. 
The  pistillate  blossoms  are  congregated  in  more  compact  clus- 
ters, and,  as  in  many  monoecious  trees,  they  are  located  near 
the  tips  of  the  lower  boughs.  From  the  top-most  branches 
the  staminate  ones  sway.  That  their  respective  positions  are 
such  is  another  illustration  of  Nature's  theory  that  nothing  is 
insignificant.  When  the  breezes  bend  the  tree-tops  the  pollen 
is  shaken  out,  and  its  natural  fall  is  then  downward  upon  the 
pistillate  ones  which  eagerly  arrest  its  flight. 

This  chestnut  oak  is  a  beautiful  and  mightytree,  with  a  pale, 
almost  white  bark.  Its  long  leaves  hang  closely  to  the  branches 
and  resemble,  in  general  outline,  those  of  the  true  chestnut. 
That  is  when  it  grows  in  the  Atlantic  states,  where  it  is  some- 
what rare  and  local.  West  of  the  Alleghanies  it  inhabits  rich 
bottom  lands.  Its  leaves  then  are  very  variable.  In  their 
broadest  forms,  with  their   teeth   considerably  rounded,  they 


Stantinate  branch. 


PLATE  CLV.     CHESTNUT  OAK.     Oucrcus  acuminata. 
(284) 


TREES  GROWING  IN  DRY  SOIL.  285 

closely  resemble  those  of  Quercus  Prinus.  But  the  difference  in 
the  quality  and  colouring  of  the  bark  of  the  two  trees  would 
prevent  their  being  mistaken  for  one  another. 

The  wood  of  Quercus  acuminata  is  used  in  cooperage. 

BLACK-HAW.     STAQ=BUSH.     {Plate  CLVI.) 
Vibtirnum  prunifblium. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Honeysuckle.     Low^  branching,     is-20/eet.      Conn,  and  X .Y.to  Fla.  May. 

and  Texas.  Fruit  :  Sept. 

Wood:  reddish  brown;  hard.  Leaves  :  simple;  opposite;  with  short,  slightly 
or  rarely  margined  petioles  with  straight  edges;  broadly  oval,  or  obovate; 
pointed  or  blunt  at  the  apex  and  base;  very  variable;  finely  serrate;  the  teeth 
sharp;  glabrous;  lustrous.  FUmjers  :  white;  small;  perfect;  growing  in  com- 
pound, sessile  cymes  at  the  ends  of  the  branches.  Frmt :  dark  blue;  oval; 
glaucous  ;  edible;  sweet. 

Just  before  the  earth  begins  to  grow  green  and  tiny  leaves 
venture  to  show  themselves  and  to  shiver,  there  is  about  it 
something  very  clean  and  russet  looking.  Everywhere  small 
harbingers  of  spring  are  peeping  out,  and  they  seem  to  enjoy  hav- 
ing things  pretty  much  their  own  way.  Later  in  the  season  we 
owe  an  abundance  of  bloom  to  the  Viburnums.  Throughout 
the  north  the  black-haw  is  most  frequently  found  as  a  low, 
branching  shrub  of  about  six,  eight  or  twelve  feet  high.  Its 
leaves  are  smaller  than  those  of  Viburnian  lejitago,  page  82,  and 
the  differences  in  the  margins  of  the  petioles  serve  as  a  means 
of  their  identification.  Its  cymes  of  flowers  stand  out  well  from 
the  leaves.  Besides  these  particular  features  the  shrub  is  one 
that  grows  in  dry  soil. 

V.  acerifolium,  maple-leaved  arrow-wood,  or  dockmaxie,  is  a 
shrub  of  about  six  feet  high.  Its  bloom — broad  cymes  of  small 
white  flowers — which  grows  on  long  peduncles,  is  very  familiar 
to  us  in  the  early  days  of  spring*,  and  later  its  bright  crimson 
drupes,  turning  eventually  to  black,  are  very  noticeable.  The 
leaves  might  be  mistaken,  and  frequently  are,  for  those  of  a 
young  maple  tree.  In  dry  or  rocky  woods,  or  abundantly  along 
shady  roadsides,  the  plant  is  found. 


Enlarged  Jlo'ver. 

PLATE  CLVI.     BLACK-HAW.     Viburnum  prunz/oiium. 
(286) 


TREES  GROWING  IN  DRY  SOIL. 


287 


STAG  HORN  sun  AC.     VINEGAR  TREE.     {Plate  CL  VII.) 

Rhiis  hirta. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

iiumac.        Umbrella-like.        lo-^o/eet.       New  Brunswick  westward,  June. 

southfjard  to  Alabama.         Fruit:  Aug.-Oci. 

Bark:  dark  brown;  smooth.  Inner  bark:  yellow.  Braiichlets  and  leaf- 
stems:  covered  thickly  with  a  velvety,  crimson  down.  Juice :  milky;  viscid,  and 
turning  black  with  exposure  to  the  atmosphere.  Leaves  :  compound  ;  alternate; 
with  stout  stalks,  reddish  on  their  upper  sides  ;  odd-pinnate  with  from  eleven  to 
thirty-one,  narrowly  oval,  sessile  leaflets  ;  taper-pointed  at  the  apex  and  cordate 
or  rounded  at  the  base;  evenly  and  sharply  serrate.  When  unfolding  covered 
underneath  with  reddish  hairs  and  becoming  nearly  white  and  glabrous  at 
maturity.  Flcnvers :  yellowish  green  ;  growing  in  large,  dense,  terminal  pani- 
cles, the  fertile  ones  forming  those  that  are  the  most  compact.  Berries :  bright 
crimson;  rounded  or  flattened  and  covered  with  long,  reddish  hairs;  acrid  ;  not 
poisonous. 

Over  the  surrounding  green  of  summer  there  is  a  warmth  and 
richness  of  colour  cast  by  the  splendid  hue  of  this  plant's  fruit, 
and  the  young  growth  of  the  tree  is  a  vivid,  bright  red.  This  is, 
in  fact,  one  of  the  beautiful  and  very  noticeable  small  trees  of 
the  waysides  and  rocky  thickets.  Not 
infrequently,  however,  it  descends  to  a 
shrub.  The  straggling  and  uneven 
growth  of  the  tree,  as  it  thrusts  the 
ends  of  its  branches  outward,  repre- 
sent somewhat  the  horns  of  a  stag, 
and  they  are  similarly  covered  with  a 
velvety  coating.  The  name  vinegar 
tree  is  due  to  the  acidity  of  its  fruit 
and  twigs,  which  is  the  outcome 
of   the   innumerable   fine   hairs  which  Rhiis  hirta. 

cover  them.  From  the  young  shoots  the  pith  can  readily  be 
removed,  and  quills  are  thus  made  with  which  to  draw  out  the 
sap  of  maple  trees  in  the  spring-time.  Little  country  boys, 
however,  convert  them  into  pin  or  putty  blowers,  and,  at  the 
expense  of  the  enemy,  amuse  themselves  highly.  Both  the 
bark  and  the  leaves  of  the  tree  are  rich  in  tannin.  Through 
the  wood  large  ducts  can  be  seen  which  designate  clearly  the 
annual  layers  of  its  growth. 


PLATE  CLVIl.    STAGHORN  SUMAC.     Rhus  hirta. 
(288) 


PLATE  CLVIIl.     SMOOTH   UPLAND  SUMAC.     K/uts ^r-labra. 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,    DY  FREDERICK  *.  STOKES  COMPANY. 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  IN  DRY  SOIL.  289 

SMOOTH  UPLAND  SUMAC.     SCARLET  SUflAC. 

{Plate  CL  VIII.) 
Rhus  glabra. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Sumac.         Spyeading.  biishy.  i-T-o/ect.  Maine  soutkward  to  June-Aug. 

Fla.  and  westzuard. 

Along  the  waysides  and  hugging  the  borders  of  fields  this 
sumac  raises  itself  so  lustily  and  so  often  that  there  are  few 
among  us  to  whom  it  is  not  familiar.  Too  frequently,  the  ban 
of  being  poisonous  is  placed  upon  it,  and  this,  it  must  be  re- 
gretted, is  the  outcome  of  a  melancholy  lack  of  observation. 
The  sharply  serrated  leaves,  the  terminal  growth  and  shape  of 
the  closely  packed  bunches  of  beautiful,  crimson  fruit,  are  ever 
ready  to  help  us  in  distinguishing  it  from  the  deadly  poisonous 
sumac,  Rhus  veniix,  which  inhabits  the  swamps.  It  is  interest- 
ing to  notice  in  this  species,  as  also  in  the  staghorn  sumac, 
that  sometimes  the  whole  or  part  of  the  flower-cluster  has 
not  been  transformed  into  flowers,  but  has  remained  as  small 
green  leaves. 

AILANTHU5.      CHINESE  SUMAC.      TREE-OF-HEAVEN. 

{Plate  CLIX.) 
Aildnthus  glandulbsa. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Ailanthus.       Round-topped^      \o<)afeet.      Escaped  from  cultivation.  June.  July, 

spreading.  Fruit:    Oct. 

Bark:  brown;  smooth.  Branchlets:  covered  with  whitish  dots.  Leaves: 
very  large;  compound;  alternate;  odd-pinnate;  with  from  seventeen  to 
forty-one  leaflets,  with  short  petiolules  ;  the  odd  one  often  absent  or 
dwarfed  and  coarsely  toothed.  Leaflets  :  lanceolate  or  long  ovate  ;  taper- 
pointed  at  the  apex,  and  squared  or  slightly  cordate  at  the  base  ;  entire,  with 
one  or  two  blunt  teeth  at  each  side  near  the  base  ;  feather-veined;  bright 
green  above,  lighter  below;  thin  and  almost  glabrous.  Fioiuers :  small; 
greenish  yellow;  growing  in  terminal,  compound  panicles.  Caivx  :  of  five 
minute  sepals.  Corolla  :  of  five  petals.  Statnens  :  in  sterile  flowers,  ten. 
Fertile  floi.uers  :  with  from  two  to  five  ovaries.  Samaras :  flat ;  the  seeds 
growing  in  the  centre  of  the  thin,  membranous  wing. 

The  generic  and  Asiatic  name  of  this  remarkable  tree  is 
from   "  ailanto,"    which  means.    Tree  of   Heaven,  and  by    the 


290 


TREES  GROWING  IN  DRY  SOIL 


Chinese  in  whose  country  it  is  a  native,  it  is  regarded  with 
much  affection.  A  Jesuit  missionary  is  credited  with  having, 
in  1761,  first  sent  its  seeds  to  England.  A  little  over  thirty 
years  later  it  was  brought  to  America  and  took  root,  near 
Philadelphia.     Since    then    it   has   been  considerably  planted. 

In  parts  of  Long  Island,  New  York 
and  New  Jersey  it  is  abundant. 
The  tree  is  of  striking,  majestic 
presence,  and  its  long,  wand-like 
stems  of  leaflets  form  a  responsive 
playing-ground  for  the  breezes. 
^^'hen  in  full  bloom  the  flowers  have 
a  feathery,  fine  appearance,  but 
they  are  not  handsome.  Their 
odour  also,  and  it  is  that  of  the 
staminate  ones,  is  generally  thought 
to  be  very  disagreeable.  They  ex- 
hale one  of  the  heavy,  oppressive 
scents  which  close  upon  the  atmos- 
phere and  prevent  many  from 
breathing  it  without  feeling  some  physical  distress.  After  the 
bloom  has  passed,  however,  the  tree  is  without  objectionable 
features. 

When  the  great  bunches  of  samaras  begin  to  ripen,  the  pis- 
tillate trees  are  most  conspicuous.  From  a  summer  green  they 
vary  in  colour  to  red,  and  in  drying  they  turn  to  a  soft  shade  of 
tan.  Often  trees  hung  with  red  samaras  and  others  hung  with 
green  ones  stand  side  by  side.  The  ailanthus  seeds  itself  readily 
and  is  also  reproduced  by  abundant  suckers  which  arise  from 
its  base.  In  cultivation,  where  a  fine,  waving  effect  of  shrub- 
bery is  desired,  it  can  be  gained  by  keeping  the  main  stems  of 
the  trees  cut  down  and  allowing  these  shoots  to  grow  to  their 
utmost  height. 


A  ildnthus  glandulbsa. 


PLATE  CLIX.     AILANTHUS.     .lilaiilli. 


COPyRIGHT,    1900,   BY  FREDERICK  *.  STOKES  COMPANY 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  IN  DRV  S0:L  291 

PIG=NUT.     BROOM  HICKORY.     {^Plate  CLX.) 
Hkbria  glabra. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

a^alnut.     Head,  niirrow;  branches,     60-90-120 _/>^/.     ALiine  westnuirii  April. 

slightly  pendulous.  and  to  Fla.  and  Fruit:  Oct.,  Nov. 

Texas. 

Bark:  light  gr:y;  close,  not  shaggy.  Leaves:  compound;  alternate;  odd- 
pinnate  ;  growing  on  smooth  stalks  and  having  from  five  to  nine  sessile  leaf- 
lets, which  are  oblong,  long-pointed  at  the  apex  and  wedge-shaped,  pointed  or 
rounded  at  the  base;  the  lower  pair  of  leaflets  much  smaller  than  the  others; 
sharply  serrate  ;  thick  ;  dark  yellowish  green,  and  glabrous  uii  the  upper  side 
at  maturity;  slightly  tufted  in  the  angles  of  the  ribs  on  the  under  sides. 
Flowers:  greenish  yellow;  growing  in  catkins.  The  staminate  ones,  three  to 
seven  inches  long  ;  the  pistillate  ones  growing  in  spikes  with  from  two  to  five 
flowers.  Fruit :  with  a  globose,  or  pear-shaped  husk  which  is  thin  and  splits 
open  only  at  the  apex,  or  to  about  the  middle.  Nut :  oblong,  with  a  smooth, 
unridged  shell ;  thin.     Kernel :  small  ;  very  bitter. 

All  undoubtedly  know  the  pig-nut,  for  it  is  generally  im- 
pressed upon  us  by  experience  ;  and  to  the  mind  clings  the  re- 
membrance of  early  days  when  its  nuts  were  eaten  in  error  for 
those  of  the  good,  old  shagbark.  Their  bitter,  disappointing 
flavour  vaguely  touches  the  palate  with  the  very  name  of  pig- 
nut. Throughout  the  northern  states  the  tree  is  common  and 
well  known. 

Commercially  its  strong,  tough  and  flexible  wood  is  not  dis- 
tinguished from  that  of  the  shell-bark  hickories.  For  the 
handles  of  tools,  agricultural  implements  and  the  making  of 
many  similar  articles,  it  is  useful. 

HORSE  CHESTNUT.     {Plate  CLX  I) 
^senilis  Hippocastanunt. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Soapberry.  Rounded,  compact.  ^o-^a/eet.  Introducid.  May,  June. 

Bark  :  brownish.  Leaves  :  palniately-compound  ;  opposite  ;  and  having 
five,  or  more  often  seven  long,  oval  leaflets  ;  abruptly  pointed  at  the  apex  nnd 
tapering  at  the  base;  ribs  straight ;  the  edges  scalloped  and  toothed.  When 
young  pubescent  with  a  brown  wool.  Flowers:  large;  cream-white,  sjjotted 
with  yellow  and  ]Durple,  and  growing  in  a  terminal  thysus.  Calyx  ■  five-cleft. 
Corolla:  of  five  spreading  petals  raised  on  short  claws.  Stamens:  seven;  e.x- 
serted,  with  orange-coloured  anthers.  Pistil:  one;  included.  Fruit;  a 
round,  green,  prickly  husk  which  encloses  within  its  valves  one  or  two  nuts. 
Nut:  mahogany  colour;  with  a  white  scar  on  one  side  ;  lustrous  when  young, 
but  becoming  dull  and  wrinkled  with  age.  Kernel:  aromatic;  poisonous  and 
having  a  strong  odour. 


Pistillate        Staminatt 
/lower.  Jlower. 


PLATE  CLX.     PIG-NUr.     Hicoria  glabra. 
(292) 


TREES  GROWING  IN  DRY  SOIL.  293 

Throughout  its  entire  career  there  is  something  very  charac- 
teristic about  the  horse  chestnut  tree.  The  large,  silky  leaf- 
buds  remind  us  of  those  of  the  magnolia  as  they  unfold  in  the 
early  spring,  and  as  from  them  the  beautifully  formed  leaflets 
begin  to  grow,  we  continue  to  notice  how  individual  is  the 
whole  aspect  of  the  tree.  Everything  that  it  does  appears  to 
be  well  planned  and  regular.  The  exquisite  bunches  of  flowers 
have  a  unique  way  of  pointing  upward,  and  the  fragrance  that 
emanates  from  them  is  as  good  a  guide  to  the  tree's  locality,  as 
to  see  their  shimmering  light.  Again 
the  mahogany-coloured  nut  with  its  white 
scar  is  as  unmistakable  as  the  piebald 
horse  of  one's  neighbour.  It  is  rather 
disappointing  to  attempt  to  eat  its  abun- 
dant meat;  for  it  is  intensely  bitter,  al- 
though it  is  not,  as  has  been  thought  by 
many,  poisonous.  In  fact,  on  the  con- 
tinent, cattle,  sheep  and  pigs  are  fed  upon 
the   nuts,  and    rooks    devour    them    with 

.  ,  .  ^sculus  Hippochstanunt. 

avidity,      ihey  are  moreover  not  without 

efficacy  of  another  sort,  for  an  ancient  superstition  assures  us 
that  to  carry  one  constantly  in  the  pocket  will  prevent  rheu- 
matism from  attacking  the  wearer. 

The  flowers  of  this  tree  appear  to  have  been  especially  de- 
signed to  suit  the  convenience  of  the  bumble-bee  that  visits 
them  so  frequently.  The  protruding  stamens  and  style  do 
not  interfere  with  him  as  he  alights  on  the  petals;  he  only 
brushes  them  a  little  with  his  under  part  and  covers  himself 
with  pollen.  His  legs  fit  well  into  the  spaces  between  the 
petals,  and  he  is  therefore  able  to  settle  himself  quite  comforta- 
bly. He  then  thrusts  his  proboscis  into  the  honey-holding  sac 
at  the  base  of  the  flower,  quickly  draws  it  out  and  is  away  to 
another  one.  The  rapidity  with  which  he  accomplishes  this 
is  truly  astonishing.     It  is  the  work  of  only  a  very  few  seconds. 

Although  well  known  in  this  country  the  tree  is  not  a  native. 


PLATE  CLXI.     HORSE  CHESTNUT. 

(294) 


-ul2is  Hippocastanunt. 


TREES  GROWING  IN  DRY  SOIL.  295 

By  Professor  Sargent  it  is  said  to  be  indigenous  in  the  moun- 
tains of  northern  Greece.  As  a  timber  tree  it  is  practically- 
worthless.      Buds,  page  30. 

.'^senilis  rubicunda,  red  horse  chestnut,  is  cultivated  mostly 
for  ornament,  and  for  the  sake  of  the  contrasting  colours  of  their 
flowers  it  is  planted  by  the  side  of  /Esculus  Hippocastanum. 
The  deep  pink  of  its  blossoms  mingling  with  the  bright  green 
of  its  leaves,  spotted  here  and  there  with  red,  is  very  lovely. 
The  tree  is  never  tall,  sometimes  hardly  more  than  a  shrub. 
Each  flower  has  but  four  slightly  spreading  petals.  Generally, 
it  is  thought  to  be  a  hybrid  between  the  horse  chestnut  and 
Esculus  Favia,  red  buckeye.  This  latter  plant  bears  bright 
red  flowers,  and  usually  occurs  as  a  shrub.  Its  best  growth  is 
in  Virginia  and  southward. 

HICKORY  PINE.      TABLE=MOUNTAIN  PINE.      PRICKLY 

PINE.     {Plate  CLXII.) 

Plmts  pimgetis. 


FAMILY 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE 

TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Pine. 

Head.,  narroiu  :  branches, 
short.,  ascending. 

lo-bo/eei. 

iV.J.  and  Fenn.  to 

No.  Carolina  and 

Tenn. 

May. 

Bark:  reddish  l)ro\vn  ;  when  old,  rough  and  Ijroken  into  jjlate-like  scales. 
Leaves  I  dark  bluish  green;  seldom  over  two  inches  long;  simple;  growing 
closely  along  the  branches  in  bunches  of  two  or  sometimes  three,  and  having 
sheaths  at  their  bases  ;  needle-shaped,  the  outer  side  round  and  smooth,  the 
inner  side  grooved;  stiff.  Stamiitate  flawers:  growing  in  long  spikes.  Pistillate 
ones  :  clustered  in  the  young  cones.  Cones  :  pale,  reddish  yellow  ;  three  to  four 
inches  long;  oblong  or  ovate;  sessile,  and  frequently  growing  in  clusters  of 
four  or  more;  heavy.     Scales:  woody,  with  a  hooked  spine  nearly  an  inch  long. 

The  great  pines,  so  simple  in  construction,  must  always  inter- 
est us,  and  from  the  larches,  the  firs,  the  cedars  and  the  spruces, 
which  also  are  members  of  the  family  coniferse,  we  readily  dis- 
tinguish them  because  their  leaves,  although  varying  greatly  in 
length,  are  needle-shaped  and  grow  in  clusters  of  from  two  to 
five.  At  their  bases  they  are  sheathed,  or  held  together  by  a 
thin,  membranous  scale.  When  pressed  together  they  form  a 
cylinder. 


Envolucre  of        Winged 
ttatninate  f,o~i.icr^         seed, 
enlarged. 

PLATE  CLXll.     HICKORY  PINE.     Pitius  pungms. 

^296) 


TREES  GROWING  IN  DRY  SOIL.  297 

Pinus  pungens  has  a  rather  limited  range.  Its  cones  are  very 
abundant  and  beautiful.  After  fertilization  has  taken  place, 
and  their  scales  have  closed  to  protect  the  young  and  forming 
seeds,  it  is  astonishing  how  hard  and  heavy  they  are  found  to 
be  when  taken  in  the  hand.  Almost  they  appear  like  bits  of  clay. 
Light  brown  and  coarsely  grained  wood  is  produced  by  the 
tree,  and  it  is  soft  and  brittle.  In  Pennsylvania  it  is  largely 
made  into  charcoal. 

COMMON  JUNIPER.     GROUND  CEDAR.      {Phxte  CLXIII.) 

Jutiiperus  conuiiiiiu's. 

FAMILY  SHAPE  HEIGHT  RANGE  TIME  OF  BLOOM 

rine.       Loxv,  broixd^  spreading.      ■20-2^ /eet.     -Wr'i(  Scotin  soui/nvard        Aprils  May. 

and  ■ivest%i'arti.  Fruit:  Oct. 

Bark:  reddish  brown  and  separating  into  thin,  papery  sheets.  Leaves  :  sini- 
l)le ;  linear-lanceolate  or  awl-shaped;  spreading  and  growing  in  whorles  of 
three  up  and  down  the  slender  branchlets  ;  rigid;  shari:)ly  pointed;  channelled; 
dark  yellow-green  and  glaucous  on  the  upper  side;  astringent.  Berries  :  large  ; 
sessile  ;  bluish  grey;  glaucous  ;  fragrant  when  dried;  sweet. 

By  Professor  Sargent  it  is  said  that  Juniperus  communis  is 
the  most  widely  distributed  tree  of  the  northern  hemisphere 
It  occurs  in  Europe  and  Asia  also.  In  India  its  twigs  are 
burned  as  incense,  and  its  berry-like  cones  are  employed  in  the 
practice  of  medicine.  In  this  country  the  latter  are  considera- 
bly used  to  flavour  gin,  and  they  take  in  New  England  fully 
three  years  in  which  to  mature.  The  tree  is  erect  with  an  irregu- 
larly shaped  head,  and  it  is  not  infrequently  found  growing 
by  the  side  of  Juniperus  Virginiana.  Junipenis  fiana,  the  low 
juniper,  thrives  in  pastures  and  on  dry  hillsides  as  a  shrub, 
when  its  branches  grow  low,  often  closely  to  the  ground. 

"  The  birch-tree  swung  her  fragrant  hair, 

The  bramble  cast  her  berry, 
The  gin  within  the  juniper 

Began  to  make  him  merry. 
The  poplars,  in  long  order  due, 

With  cypress  promenaded. 
The  shock-head  willows  two  and  two 

By  rivers  gallopaded  " — Tennyson. 


PLATE  CLXIII,    COMMON  JUNIPER.  Juniperus  commwiis. 
(298) 


PLATE  CLXIV.     RED  CEDAR.    Juniperus  Vi)sinia?ia. 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,    BY  FREDERICK  A.   STOKES  COMPANY 
PRINTED  IN  AMERICA. 


TREES  GROWING  IN  DRY  SOIL. 


299 


RED  CEDAR.     SAVIN.     {Plate  CLX/V.) 
Juniper  us  Virgmiana. 


FAMILY 

SHAPE 

HEIGHT 

RANGE 

TIME  OF  BLOOM 

Pine. 

Conic, 

irregular  ivhen 
old. 

15-30-iooyi'f/. 

General. 

April,  iMay. 
Fruit:  Sept.,  Oct. 

Bark  :  reddish  brown,  and  separating  into  long  shreds,  hiner  bark:  smooth  ; 
polished.  Leaves  ;  minute;  dull  green  ;  simple  ;  opposite  in  pairs  ;  ovate;  over- 
lapping each  other,  and  growing  in  four  rows  on  the  rather  square,  fine  branch- 
lets;  stiff;  sharp.  When  young  the  leaves  spread  out  somewhat  from  the 
branches,  which  are  then  more  rounded,  and  are  needle-shaped.  When  pulled 
away  from  the  branch  it  canine  seen  that  they  grow  in  jjairs,  or  sometimes  threes. 
Berries:  small;  bluish  grey  ;  growing  erectly  and  closely  along  the  branchleis. 

From  the  coloured  plate  something  of  the  beauty  of  the  pistil- 
late cedar  tree  may  be  gathered  when  its  olive-green  foliage  is 
alive  with  the  brightness  of  its 
berries.  The  staminate  trees  are 
of  a  rather  rusty  brown  tone,  and 
although  they  are  not  generally 
regarded  as  attractive,  there  are 
many  that  delight  in  their  unsym- 
metrical  and  rather  weird  style 
of  growth.  The  tree,  as  Juni- 
perus  communis,  is  more  widely 
distributed  than  any  other  con- 
iferous one  of  North  America. 
Its  versatility  and  knack  of  adapt- 
ing itself  to  various  conditions 
of  climate  and  soil  are  truly 
wonderful.  From  a  low  bush  it 
ranges  in  size  to  a  great  tree  with 

a  fine,  straight  trunk,  and  it  is  either  pyramidal  or  rounded. 
Throughout  New  England  and  New  Brunswick  it  favours  dry 
soil ;  in  the  valleys  of  Pennsylvania  it  seeks  that  which  is 
alluvial.  On  the  limestone  hills  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee 
are  the  "cedar  brakes";  while  in  Florida  the  tree  grows  to 
a  great  size  in  swamps  and  in  bottom  lands.     Throughout  the 


Juniperus  Virginiitna. 


300^  TREES  GROWING  IN  DRY  SOIL. 

Rocky  mountains,  in  the  extreme  northwest  and  in  southern 
California  it  seeks  such  haunts  as  suit  its  fancy. 

The  formal  outline  of  the  tree  is  valuable  in  landscape  gar- 
dening when  it  is  desired  to  produce  rugged  effects.  Often  we 
then  see  it  cut  into  fantastic  shapes,  a  trick  learned  from  the 
Japanese  by  the  Dutch,  and  it  is  sufficiently  hardy  to  stand  well 
this  suppression  of  its  natural  growth. 

For  a  long  time  the  Indians  have  delighted  in  its  bright  red, 
fragrant  and  spicy  wood  which  does  not  decay,  and,  as  it  is  ob- 
jectionable to  moths,  cedar  chests  and  closets  are  appreciated 
by  thrifty  housewives.  Its  principal  use,  however,  is  in  the 
making  of  lead  pencils.  Of  the  heterogeneous  community  that 
daily  wields  thousands  of  them,  it  is  a  matter  of  interest  to 
wonder  how  many  ever  cast  a  glance  of  recognition,  or  expend 
a  thought  upon  the  tree  that  has  so  abundantly  yielded  of  its 
best. 


D.  H,  HILL  LIBRARY 

North  Carolina  State  College 


Index  to  English  Names. 


Abele,  271. 
Acacia,  False,  205. 

"         Rose,  208. 

"        Three-Thorned,  209. 
Ague  Tree,  263. 
Ailanthus,  289. 
Alder,  Black,  44. 

"         Hoary,  50. 

"         Smooth,  52. 

"        Speckled,  50. 
Alligator  Tree,  136. 
Apple,  267. 

"         Custard,  in. 
Arbor-Vitas,  103. 

Arrow-Wood,  Maple-Leaved,  285. 
Ash,  Biltmore,  142. 

'*     Black,  92. 

"     Blue,  223. 

«     Green,  97. 

"     Hoop,  92. 

"     Mountain,  American,  140. 

«<  "  Elder-Leaved,  141. 

"  "  European,  141. 

"  "  Western,  141. 

"     Poison,  88. 

"     Red,  95. 

"     Water,  92. 

"     White,  220. 
Aspen,  American,  238. 

"        Large-Toothed,  183. 
Asp,  Quaking,  238. 
Azalea,  Smooth,  152. 
"         Tree,  152. 


Balm  of  Gilead,  72. 
Basswood,  153. 

White,  156. 
Bay,  Bull,  37. 

"     Sweet,  39. 
Bean  Tree,  195. 
Bee-Tree,  Linden,  156. 
Beech,  American,  174. 

"       Blue,  52. 

"       Copper,  175. 

"       European,  175. 

"       Water,  52. 
Bilsted,  136. 
Birch,  American  White,  275. 

"       Black,  177. 

"       Canoe,  175. 

"       Cherry,  177. 

"      Grey,  179. 

"      Grey,' 275. 

"       Old-Field,  275. 

"       Paper,  175. 

"       Red,  48. 

"       River,  48. 

"       Sweet,  177. 

"       Weeping,  276. 

"      White,  175. 

"      Yellow,  179. 
Bitter-nut,  89. 
Black-Haw,  285. 
Black-jack,  2S0. 
Bladder-nut.  Western,  144. 
Buckeye,  Big,  146. 

"         California,  149. 


304 


INDEX  TO  ENGLISH  NAMES. 


Buckeye,  Fetid,  147. 
Ohio,  147. 
"         Purple  Sweet,  147. 

Red,  295. 
"         Sweet,  146. 
"         Yellow,  146. 
Uutton-Ball  Tree,  47. 
Hutterniit,  213. 
Hutton-Wood,  47. 

Candle-Tree,  195. 
Caper  Tree,  Jamaica,  112. 
Catalpa,  195. 
Cedar,  Ground,  297. 
*'         Red,  299. 
"         Southern  White,  loi. 
"         White,  103, 
Cherry,  Bird,  156. 
"         Cabinet,  265. 

Choke,  46. 
"         Perfumed,  157. 
"         Pigeon,  156. 
"         Pin,  156. 
"         Rum,  265. 

Wild  Black,  265. 
Wild  Red,  156. 
Chestnut,  American,  173. 
"  Horse,  291. 

"  Red  Horse,  295. 

Chinquapin,  174. 
Coffee-Tree,  Kentucky,  211. 
Cornel,  194. 

"        195- 
Cornelian  Tree,  192. 
Coral-Berry,  262. 
Cottonwood,  74. 

"  Narrow-Leaved,  115. 

"  River,  70. 

"  Swamp,  70. 

Cranberry  Tree,  83. 
Crab-apple,  American,  159. 

"  Narrow-Leaved,  159. 

Crab  Tree,  Sweet  Scented,  159. 


Cucumber  Tree,  150, 

"  "      Yellow,  152. 

Cypress,  99. 

Bald,  99. 

Date-Plum,  233. 

Dockmaxie,  285. 

Dogwood,  Alternate-Leaved,  194. 

"  False,  202. 

"  Flowering,  192. 

"  Panicled,  195. 

Poison,  88. 

"  Red-Osier,  195. 

"  Round-Leaved,  195. 

**  Striped,  202. 

Elder,  144. 
Elderberry,  146. 
Elder,  Box,  90. 

"      Poison,  88. 

"      Sweet,  146. 
Elk-Wood,  loS. 
Elm,  American,  120. 

"     Corky  White,  122. 

"     English,  124. 

"     False,  126. 

"     Hickory,  122. 

"     Moose,  122. 

"     Red,  122. 

"     Rock,  122. 

"     Slippery.  122. 

"     Winged,  122. 

"     White,  120. 

Filbert,  181. 

Fir,  Balm  of  Gilead,  231. 

"     Balsam,  231. 

"     Eraser's  Balsam,  232. 
Fringe  Tree,  Common,  80. 

Gum,  Black,  40. 
"      Hog.  38. 


INDEX  TO  ENGLISH  NAMES. 


30s 


Gum,  Sour,  40. 

"      Star-Leaved,  136. 
"      Sweet,  136. 

Hackberry,  126. 
Hackmatack,  105. 
Haw,  236. 

"      Pear,  165. 
"      Red,  163. 
Hawthorn,  163. 
Hazel-Nut,  i8i. 

"  Beaked,  183. 

Hemlock,  226. 

"  Carolina,  227. 

Hickory,  Broom,  291. 
*'        Fragrant,  214. 
"        Shag-Bark,  216. 
"        Shell-Bark,  216. 
"        Big  Shell-Bark,  218. 
"        Small-Fruited,  220. 
*'        Swamp,  89. 
«»  "       90. 

•'        Water,  90. 
"        White-Heart,  214. 
Hobble-Bush,  83. 
Holly,  American,  117. 

"       Large-Leaved,  118. 
Honey  Shucks,  209. 
Hop-Hornbeam,  276. 
Hornbeam,  American,  52. 

Indian  Bean,  195. 

"  Larger,  196. 

Indian  Currant,  262. 
Ironwood,  52. 
"  276. 

Judas-Tree,  American,  113. 
June-Berry,  269. 
June-Berry,  Northwestern,  270. 
Juniper,  Common,  297. 
"         Low,  297. 

King  Nut,  218. 


Larch,  American,  105. 
Leverwood,  276. 
Linden,  American,  153. 

"        European,  156. 
Locust,  Bristly,  208. 

"       Clammy,  207. 

"       Honey,  209. 

"       Moss,  208. 

"       Tree,  205. 

"       Western,  140. 

"       Yellow,  205. 

Magnolia,  Great-Flowered,  37. 
"  Laurel,  39. 

"  Mountain,  150. 

"  Small,  39. 

Mahaleb,  157. 
Mahogany,  California,  234. 
Maple,  Ash-Leaved,  90. 
"      Bird's-eye,  198. 
"      Black  Sugar,  198. 
"      Blood-Leaved  Japanese,  204. 
••      Curled,  198. 
"      Goosefoot,  201. 
"      Hard,  197. 
"      Mountain,  202. 
**      Norway,  204. 
"      Red,  83. 
**      Rock,  197. 
"      Scarlet,  83. 
"      Silver,  86. 
"      Soft,  83. 
"      Soft,  86. 
"      Striped,  201. 
"      Sugar,  197. 
"      Swamp,  83. 
"      White,  86. 
May-Cherry,  269. 
Mocker-nut,  214. 
Moose  Wood,  201. 
Mulberry,  Paper,  130. 
"  Red,  1 28. 

"  White,  130. 


3o6 


INDEX  TO  ENGLISH  NAMES. 


Nanny  Berry,  82. 
Nettle-Tree,  126. 

Oak,  Barren,  280. 

'      Black,  245. 

'      Box  White,  278. 

'      Burr,  132. 

'      Chestnut,  283. 
Iron,  278. 

'      Laurel,  80. 

'      Live,  240. 

'      Mossy-Cup,  132. 

'      Over-cup  White,  132. 

'      Peach-leaved,  78. 

'      Pin,  133. 
Post,  278. 

'      Red,  191. 

'      Rock  Chestnut,  282. 

'      Round-Leaved  White,  278. 

'       Scarlet,  243. 

'       Shingle,  80. 

'      Spanish,  242. 

'      Swamp  Chestnut,  282. 

'      Swamp  Spanish,  133. 

'      Swamp  White,  76. 

'      Water,  89. 

'      Water,  133. 

'      White,  188. 

'       Willow,  78. 

'      Yellow,  283. 

'      Yellow-Bark,  245. 
Oilnut,  213. 
Old  Man's  Beard,  80. 
Osier.  Golden,  66. 

Papaw,  North  American,  in. 
Peach,  270. 
Pecan,  Bitter,  90. 
Pepperridge,  40. 
Persimmon,  233. 
Pig-nut,  291. 
Pine,  Canadian,  249, 
"     Candlewood,  255. 


Pine,  Bank's,  246. 
"     Bull,  254. 
"     Georgia,  253. 
"     Grey,  246. 
"     Hickory,  295. 
"     Jersey,  251. 
"     Labrador,  246. 
"     Long-Leaved,  253. 
"     Northern  Scrub,  2^6. 
"     Pitch,  255. 
"     Prickly,  295. 
"     Red,  249. 
"     Scrub,  251. 
"     Short-Leaved,  254. 
"     Spruce,  254. 
"     Southern  Yellow,  253. 
"     Table-Mountain,  295. 
"     Torch,  255. 
"     Weymouth,  225. 
"     White,  225. 
"     Yellow,  254. 
Plane-Tree,  47. 
Plum,  Canada,  44. 
"  "         161. 

"     Date,  233. 
"     Horse,  161. 
"     Wild,  163. 

"     Red,  44. 
"         "     Yellow,  44. 
Poison  Wood,  138. 
Poplar,  83. 

"      Balsam,  70. 

"      Carolina,  74. 

"       Downy,  70. 

"      Heart-Leaved  Balsam,  72. 

"      Lombardy,  273. 

"      Necklace,  74. 

"      River,  74. 

"      Silver-Leaf,  271. 

"      White,  238. 

"  "      271. 

QUCERITRON,  245. 


INDEX  TO  ENGLISH  NAMES. 


307 


Red  Bud,  113. 
Rowan  Tree,  140. 
"        "        141. 

Sassafras,  263. 

"  Swamp,  39. 

Savin,  299. 
Service-Berry,  269. 

"       Tree,  American,  140. 
Shad-Bush,  270. 
Sheep  Berry,  82. 
Silver  Bell  Tree,  114. 
Snowberry,  262. 

Snowdrop  Tree,  Four-Winged,  114. 
Sorrel-Tree,  171. 
Sour-Wood,  171. 
Spruce,  Black,  227. 

"       Norway,  260. 

*'       Red,  258. 

"       White,  229. 
Stag-Bush,  285. 
Stump  Tree,  211. 
Sugar-Berry,  126. 

"       Tree,  197. 
Sumac,  Chinese,  289. 

<'        Coral,  138. 

"       Poison,  88. 

"        Scarlet,  289. 

"       Smooth  Upland,  289. 

"       Staghorn,  287. 
Sycamore,  48. 

"        False,  204. 

Tacamahac,  70. 
Tamarack,  105. 
Thorn,  Black,  165. 

"      Cockspur,  169. 

"      Common,  167. 

"      Dwarf,  236. 

"      Dotted-Fruited,  167. 

"      Large-Fruited,  T67. 

"      Long-Spined,  165. 

"      Newcastle,  169. 

"      Pear,  165. 


Thorn,  Scarlet,  163. 

"      Three- Flowered,  119. 
Tulip  Tree,  186. 
Tupelo,  40. 

"       Water,  42. 
Tree-of-Heaven,  289. 

Umbrella-Tree,  io8. 

Viburnum,  Sweet,  82. 
Vhiegar  Tree,  287. 

Wahoo,  122, 
Wahoo,  156. 
Walnut,  Black,  212. 

"       White,  213. 

«       White,  216. 
Whistle-wood,  153. 
Whitewood,  153. 
White-wood,  186. 
Willow,  Almond,  56. 

"       American  Bay,  57. 

«       Bebb's,  59. 

«       Black,  54. 

"       Brittle,  68, 

"       Crack,  68. 

"       Glossy  Broad-Leaved,  57. 

"       Hoop,  65. 

"       Huntington,  65. 

"       Long-Beaked,  59. 

"       Ochre-Flowered,  59. 

"       Peach-Leaved,  56. 

"       Ring,  62. 

"       Scythe-Leaved,  56. 

"       Shining,  57. 
Silky,  62. 

"       Western  Black,  56. 
White,  65. 

"       Weeping,  62. 

"       Yellow,  66. 
Winterberry,  Virginia,  44. 
Witch-Hazel,  171. 

Yellow  Wood,  American,  210. 
"  Kentucky,  210. 


Index  to  Latin  Names. 


Abies  balsamea,  231. 
Abies  Fraseri,  232. 

Acer  Japonicum  atropurpureum,  204. 
"     Negundo,  90. 
"     nigrum,  198. 
"     Pennsylvanicum,  201. 
"     platanoicles,  204. 
"     Pseudo-Platanus,  204. 
"     rubrum,  183. 
"     saccharinum,  86. 
"     Saccharum,  197. 
"     spicatutn,  202. 
.^isculus  Californica,  149. 
"         glabra,  147, 
"         Hippocastanum,  291. 
"         octandra,  146. 
"  "         var.  hybrida,  147. 

"         Pavia,  295. 
"         rubicunda,  295. 
Ailanthus  glandulosa,  289, 
Alnus  incana,  50. 
"      rugosa,  52. 
Amelanchier  alnifolia,  270. 

"  Botrgapium,  270. 

"  Canadensis,  269. 

Amygdalus  Persica,  270. 
Asimina  triloba,  1 11. 
Azalea  arborescens,  152. 
"      nudiflora,  153. 
"      viscosa,  153. 

BeTULA  LENTA,  1 77. 

"       lutea,  179. 


Betula   nigra,  48, 

"       papyrifera,  175. 
"        penduJa,  276. 
"        popuiifolia,  275. 

Broussonetia  papyrifera,  130. 

Capparis  Jamaicensis,  112. 
Carpi-nus  Caroliniana,  52. 
Castanea  dentata,  173. 
"         purnila,  174. 
Catalpa  Catalpa,  195. 
"      speciosa,  196. 
Celtis  occidentalis,  126. 
Cercis  Canadensis,  113. 
Chamaecyparis  thyoides,  loi. 
Chionanthus  Virginica,  80. 
Cladrastis  lutea,  210. 
Cornus  alternifolia,  194. 
"      candidissima,  195. 
"      circinata,  195. 
"      florida,  192. 
"      stolonifera,  195. 
Corylus  Americana,  iSr. 

"        rostrata,  183. 
Crataegus  coccinea,  163. 
"         Crus-Galli,  169. 
"         macracantha,  165. 
"         punctata,  167. 
"         tomentosa,  165. 
"         triflora,  119. 
"         uniflora,  236. 

DlOSPYROS  ViRGINIANA,  233. 


INDEX  TO  LATIN  NAMES. 


309 


Fagus  Americana,  174. 
"      sylvatica,  175. 
«*  "        foliis  atrorubentibus, 

175- 
Ficus  Sycomorus,  48. 

Fraxinus  Americana,  220. 

"        Biltmoreana,  142. 

"       lanceolata,  97. 

"       nigra,  92. 

"        Pennsylvanica,  95. 

"        quadrangulata,  223. 

Gleditsia  triancan thos.  209. 
Gymnocladus  dioica,  211. 

Hamamelis  Virginiana,  171. 
Hicoria  alba,  214. 

"       aquatica,  90, 

"       glabra,  291. 

"       laciniosa,  218. 

"        mfcrocarpa,  220. 

"        minima,  89. 

*'        ovata,  216. 

Ilex  monticola,  118. 
"    opaca,  117. 
*'     verticillata,  44. 

JUGLANS  CINEREA,  213. 

"         nigra,  212. 
Juniperus  communis,  297. 
"         nana,  297. 
"         Virginiana,  299. 

Larix  Europ.^a,  107. 

"      laricina,  105. 
Liquidambar  Styraciflua,  136. 
Liriodendron  Tulipifera,  186. 

Magnolia  acuminata,  150. 
"  cordata,  152. 

"  fcetida,  37. 

-    "  tripetala,  loS. 

"  Virginiana,  39. 


Malus  angustifolia,  159. 

"     coronaria,  159. 

"     Malus,  267. 
Mohrodendron  Carolinum,  114. 
Morus  alba,  130. 

"       rubra,  128. 

Nyssa  biflora,  42. 
"      sylvatica,  40. 

Ostrya  Virginiana,  276. 
Oxydendrum  arboreum,  171. 

PiCEA  Canadensis,  229. 
"     excelsa,  260. 
"     Mariana,  227. 
"     rubens,  258. 
Pinus  divaricata,  246. 
"      echinata,  254. 
"      palustris,  253. 
"      pungens,  295. 
*'      resinosa,  249. 
"      rigida,  255. 
"      Strobus,  225. 
"      Virginiana,  251. 
Platanus  occidentalis,  47. 
Populus  alba,  271. 

"        angustifolia,  115. 

"       balsamifera,  70. 

"        candicans,  72. 

"       deltoides,  74. 

"       dilatata,  273. 

"       grandidentata,  183. 

"       heterophylla,  70, 

"       tremuloides,  238. 
Prunus  Americana,  44. 

"       Mahabel,  157. 

"       nigra,  161. 

"        Pennsylvanica,  156. 

"       serotima,  265. 

"       subcordata,  163. 

■'        Virginiana,  46. 


3IO 


INDEX  TO  LATIN  NAMES. 


Quercus  acuminata,  283. 

"  alba,  188. 

"  coccinea,  243. 

"  digitata,  242. 

"  laurifolia,  80. 

"  macrocarpa,  132. 

"  Marylandica,  280. 

"  minor,  278. 

"  palustris,  133, 

Phellos,  78. 

"  platanoides,  76. 

"  Priiius,  282. 

"  rubra,  191. 

"  velutiiia,  245. 

"  Virginiana,  240. 

Rhus  glabra,  289. 
"      hirta,  287. 
"      integrifolia,  234. 
"      Metopium,  138. 
"      toxicodendron,  138. 
"      Vernix,  88. 

ROBINIA  HISPIDA,  2oS. 
Robinia,  Neo-Mexicana,  140. 

"         Pseudacacia,  205. 

"         viscosa,  207. 

Salix  alba,  65. 

"  "     argentea,  66, 

"  "     ccerulea,  66. 

"  "     vitellini,  66, 

Salix  amygdaloides,  56. 

"      Babylonica,  62. 

"  "         annularis,  65. 

"     Bebbiana,  59. 


Salix  fragilis,  68. 
"  lucida,  57. 
"      nigra,  54. 

"      falcata,  56. 
"      sericea,  62. 
Sambucus  Canadensis,  146. 

"  "  var.  Mexicana, 

144. 
Sassafras  Sassafras,  263. 
Sorbus  Americana,  140. 
"         ancuparia,  141. 
"         sambucifolia,  141. 
Staphylea  Bolanderi,  144. 
Symphoricarpos  Symphoricarpos,  262. 

TAXODIUM  DISTICHUM,  99. 

Thuja  occidentalis,  103. 
Tilia  Americana,  153. 

"     Europaea,  156. 

"     heterophylla,  156. 

"     pubescens,  156. 
Tsuga  Canadensis,  226. 

"       Caroliniana,  227. 

Ulmus  alata,  122. 
"         Americana,  120. 
"         campestris,  124. 
"         fulva,  122. 
"         racemosa,  126. 
"         suberosa,  126. 

Viburnum  acerifolium,  285. 
"  alnifolium,  83. 

"  Lentago,  82. 

"  Opulus,  83. 

**  prunifolium,  285. 


Index  to  Technical  Terms. 


Abruptly  Pinnate,  5. 
Alburnum,  2. 
Alternate  LeaveSj  3. 
Ament,  10. 
Anther,  14. 
Arboreous  Stems,  2. 
Arrow-shaped,  7. 
Auriculate,  7. 
Axillary  inflorescence,  g. 

Bark,  cellular,  2. 

•'         fibrous,  2. 

"         inner,  2.  . 

"         outer,  2. 
Banner,  14. 
Bell-shaped,  13. 
Bl.ide,  3. 
Buds,  2-3. 

"     adventitious,  3. 

"     axillary,  2. 

"     Latent,  3. 

"     Lateral,  3. 

"     Leaf,  2. 

"     Naked,  3. 

"     Scaly,  3. 

"  Terminal,  1-2. 
Butterfly-shaped,  14. 
Bracts,  10. 

Campanulate,  13. 
Calyx,  12-13. 
Capitulum,  10. 
Capsule,  17. 


Catkin,  10. 
Cleft,  8. 

Complete  Flower,  11. 
Compound  Leaves,  5. 
Cone,  17. 
Cordate,  7. 
Corky  Layer,  2. 
Corolla.  12-13. 
Corymb,  19. 
Cotyledons,  17. 
Crenate,  7. 
Cross-fertilization,  15. 
Cyme,  10. 

Determinate,  9. 
Dioecious,  1 1. 
Dicotyledonous,  18. 
Divided,  S. 
Drupe,  17. 
Dry  Fruits,  17. 

Elliptical,  6. 
Embryo,  17. 
Endogenous  Stems,  2. 
Endosperm,  17. 
Entire  Leaves,  7. 
Exogenous  Stems,  2. 
Exserted  Stamens,  14. 

Feather-veined,  4. 
Fertilization,  15. 
Fertilizing  organs,  14. 
Filament.  14. 


312 


INDEX  TO  TECHNICAL  TERMS. 


Fleshy  Fruits,  i6. 
Funnel-Form,  13. 

Gamopetalous,  13. 
Gamosepalous,  I2. 
Glabrous,  8. 
Glaucous,  8. 
Green  Layer,  2. 

Head,  10. 
Heart-shaped,  7. 
Heart-wood,  2. 
Hypocotyl,  17. 

Imperfect  Flowers,  ii. 
Incised,  8. 

Included  Stamens,  14. 
Incomplete  Flowers,  12. 
Indeterminate  9. 
Inflorescence,  9. 
Inner  Layer,  2. 
Irregular  Flowers,  12. 

Keel,  14. 

Kernel,  17 
Key  Fruits,  17. 
Kidney-shaped,  7. 

Labiate,  13. 
Lanceolate,  6. 
Leaf-buds,  2. 
Leaves,  3-9. 
Legume,  17. 
Liber,  2. 
Linear,  6. 
Lobed,  8. 

Midrib,  3. 
Midvein,  3. 

Monocotyledonous,  18. 
Monoecious,  11. 
Multiple  Primary  Roots,  2. 


Netted-veined  Leaves,  4. 
Neutral  Flowers,  11. 
Nucleus,  17. 
Nut,  17. 

Obcordate,  7. 

Oblanceolate,  6. 

Oblong,  6. 

Obovate,  6. 

Odd-pinnate,  5. 

Opposite,  3. 

Orbicular,  7. 

Organs  of  Reproduction,  i. 

Organs  of  Vegetation,  i. 

Outer  Layer,  2. 

Oval,  6. 

Ovary,  15. 

Ovate,  6. 

Ovules,  15. 

Palmately  compound,  6. 

Palmately-veined,  5. 

Panicle,  9. 

Papilionaceous,  14. 

Parallel-veined,  5. 

Parted,  13. 

Pedicel,  9. 

Peduncle,  9. 

Peltate,  7. 

Perfect  Flowers,  11. 

Petals,  13. 

Petiole,  3. 

Pinnate,  5. 

Pinnately-veined,  4. 

Pistil,  15. 

Pistillate  Flowers,  11. 

Plumule,  18. 

Pod,  17. 

Pollen,  14. 

Polycotyledonous,  18. 

Polypetalous,  13. 

Polysepalous,  12. 


INDEX  TO  TECHNICAL  TERMS. 


313 


Pome,  16. 
Pubescent,  8. 

Raceme,  9. 
Regular  Flowers,  la. 
Reniform,  7. 
Ribs,  3. 
Root,  2. 
Rosaceous,  14. 

Sagittate,  7. 
Salver-shaped,  13. 
Samara,  17. 
Sap-wood,  2. 
Seed-bearing  Organs,  15. 
Seeds,  15,  17. 
Seed  Leaves,  17. 
Seed  Vessels,  15. 
Self-fertilization,  16. 
Sepals,  12. 
Serrate,  8. 
Sessile,  9. 
Shield-shaped,  7. 
Simple  Leaves,  5. 
Simple  Primary  Roots,  2. 
Sinuses,  8. 
Solitary,  9. 
Spatulate,  7. 


Spike,  10. 
Stamens,  14. 
Staminate  Flowers,  II. 
Standard,  14. 
Stigma,  15. 
Stipules,  3. 
Stone  Fruit,  16. 
Strobile,  17. 
Style,  15. 
Suckers,  3. 

Terminal,  9. 
Thorns,  3. 
Thysus,  9. 
Tomentose,  8. 
Tubular,  13* 

Umbel,  10. 
Undulate,  7. 

Veins,  3. 
Veinlets,  4. 
Veinulets,  4. 

Wheel-Shaped,  13. 
Whorled,  3. 
Wings,  14. 


Miscellaneous  Index. 


Acorn,  Cup  of,  243. 

Ash,  Mythological  Legend  concerning, 

221. 
Ashes,  Staminate  and  Pistillate,  97. 
"         Red     and     Green,    Similarity 
between,  97. 

Buckeye  State,  The,  147. 

Coniferous  Trees,  Early,  246. 
Cotyledons,  Thickening  of  Oak,  245. 
Cross  Timbers,  2S0. 

Elms,  Historical,  120-121. 
"         being  dioecious,  121. 

Hawthorns,  disagreeable  odour  of, 

165. 
Hickories,  Leaf-buds  of,  220. 

Galls,  134. 

Locust  Tree,  ravaged  by  insects,  207. 

Magnoll\,  Fertilization  of,  38. 
"  Useful  wood  of,  39. 

"  Historical,  39. 

Maple  Sugar,  the  Making  of,  197. 
Maples,  Autumn  Colouring  of,  204. 
"  Introduced,  204. 

"  Red,  Earliest  Signs  of  Spring, 

83- 

Needles,  those  of  Spruces  and  Firs, 
231. 


Oak- Apples,  134. 

Oaks,  differences  between  Black  and 
Scarlet,  245. 

Oaks,  Growth    of   Pistillate  Flowers, 
243- 

Oak  branches,  angle  of,  2S2. 

Oak  Grove  at  Dodona,  188. 

Oaks,  Number    indigenous  to    Amer- 
ica, 241. 

Oak,  Notable  Red,  192. 
"     Openings,  132. 

Oaks,  Location  of  Flowers,  283. 

Opportunity,  154. 

Outlines  of  Trees,  229. 

Pines,  Heart- Wood  of,  251. 
"         Means  of  distinction,  295. 
"         Pitch,  256. 
"         Resin  found  in,  249. 

The,  256. 
"         Simplicity  of  Organs  of,  246. 
Pine,  White,  Historical  incident,  225. 
Poplars,  Flower-buds  of,  115. 

"         Mythological    Legend     con- 
cerning, 238. 
Poplar,  Notable  Tree,  74. 

"        Seeds,  74. 
Poplars,  Sheen  of,  186. 

Quills  for  Maple  Sap,  287. 

Silkworms,  Leaves  fed  to,  130. 
Sumac,  Poisonous,  88. 


302  MISCELLANEOUS  INDEX. 

Tulip  Tree,  Notable,  187.  Willows,  Number  of  Species  of,  54. 

Turpentine,  The  making  of,  254.  "  Natural  habitat  of,  54. 

"         Basket  work  made  from,  68. 

Willows,  Those    Native  and    Intro-  «  Hoops  made  from,  66. 

duced,  56.  «  Seeds  of,  74. 

Willow  Catkins,  57.  «  sheen  of,  186. 

"        Historical  Weeping,  64. 


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